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PUPIL SELF- GOVERNMENT 

ITS THEORY AND PRACTICE 



By 

Bernard Cronson, A. B., Pd. D. 

Principal Public School 3, Manhattan, New York 

Author of "GraHed Lessons in Punctuation," "Methods in Elementary 
School Studies," etc., etc. 



Bffo Pork 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & COMPANY, Ltd. 
1907 

jIU rights reserved 



^^ 



U3 



fi.'ortJ'.rtY of CONGRESS I 
Iwu Oooies Received 5' 

OCT 9 SOf 

CnpyriRht Entry 
CLASSA KXC, No. 
COPY b. ' 



■C 



bOC|^ 



CopymGHT, igo7 
By the macmillan company 



Set up and electrotyped. Printed October 1907 



THE MASON-HENRY PRESS 
SYRACUSE, N. Y. 



PREFACE 

There is a demand for a work that will give a rational Justification 
insight into the system of pupil self-government. This 
is warranted by the reawakened interest manifested in 
this subject ; by the widely differing opinions which have 
been expressed concerning its value in school govern- 
ment; and lastly, by the inherent value of the scheme 
itself. 

The favorable reception which was accorded to self- 
government upon its first introduction was due to the 
fundamental truth underlying it. This same basic 
truth now calls for a reconsideration of the whole 
scheme, but not along the narrow path of experiment 
and observation, as was formerly the ease, but upon 
the broad plane of philosophy and experiment which 
past experience has made possible. 

A movement whose existence is sanctioned by em- 
pirical knowledge alone must not be judged by the 
number of failures which mark its progress, but by the 
number of its successes ; for, in this case, success points 
to efficiency, while failure points to the existence of 
untoward circumstances. This will be found true in the 
case of pupil self-government. It has succeeded in 
several authenticated instances and this success is proof 
positive that it possesses the power ascribed to it ; it has, 
however, failed in a great many other instances, and the 



vi PREFACE 

only reasonable explanation that can be given for these 
failures is that they were caused by the absence of con- 
ditions favorable to its success. The causes of these 
successes and failures, moreover, are also the causes of 
the different opinions concerning the value of the 
scheme as an agent in the moral uplifting of the chil- 
dren—opinions the truth or falsity of which can be 
determined only by rational insight. 

The scheme itself also calls for reconsideration and 
for deeper investigation into its nature, conditions, 
limitations, and powers, because as subsequent discussion 
will show it is the concrete embodiment of a psycho- 
logical truth which may be converted into a useful agent 
in the moral training of children. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

CHAPTER I. Introduction 1 

Genesis of the Movement 
Its Subsequent History- 
Causes of its Successes 
<XCauses of its Failures 

The Problem and its Relation to Teachers 

^CHAPTER II. Its Theory 13 

Means: Obedience 
Method: Apperception 
Material: Life's Activities 

CHAPTER III. Essential Conditions 22 

Existence of a Proper Ideal 

Competent Principal 

Capable Teachers 

Gradual Introduction of The Scheme 

Power to Enforce Obedience 

CHAPTER IV. Introduction of the Scheme 35 

Immediate Preparation 

Preamble 

Charter 

CHAPTER V, Development of the Scheme 45 

Legislative Department 
Executive Department 
Mayor 

Police Department 
Assembly Squad 
Patrol Squad 
Truant Squad 
Parole Squad 



viii CONTENTS 

Detective Squad 

Health Department 

Department of Savings 

Educational Department 
Judiciary Department 

CHAPTEE VI. The Scheme in Operation 53 

Yards 

Morning Assembly 

Court 

Truancy 

CHAPTEE VII. Ethics 77 

Means of Development 

Method 

Topics 

Home Life 

Out-door Life 

School Life 

Individual Welfare 

Obedience to Law 

CHAPTEE VIII. Cmcs 88 

Introduction 
Topics 

Citizenship 

Common Welfare 

Elections 

Government 

Else of Eepresentative Government 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



A Court Scene Frontispiece 

Eecess During Morning Assembly Facing page 13 

The Class President in Charge 

Chief Officers of Self -Government School 125 . . 

Truancy Squad 

Health Squad 's Inspection 

Officers in Charge of Halls, Stairs, etc 

A Captain and his Chief Lieutenants 



<< << 27 


" " 41 


" " 47 


" " 55 


" " 63 


" " 73 



CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

While the main purpose of this work is to determine Retrospeo- 
the underlying principles of the movement and the con- 
ditions favorable to its application, a preparatory re- 
mark or two concerning its formative and empirical 
stages, will serve to give fuller and clearer meaning to 
its rational stage, the one upon which it is about to 
enter. 

Ten years ago, and for several years prior to that Condition- 
time, it was my good fortune to be associated in school 
work with Dr. Matthew J. Elgas, now District Superin- 
tendent, but at that time, principal of Public School No. 
69, New York. The Doctor professed a faith in a 
doctrine that was simple and at the same time effective 
and was to this effect: That a child cajne to school to 
learn— not only spelling, but behavior as well; that a 
teacher came to school to teach the child what it ought 
to learn ; and that the principal came to school to assist, 
to encourage and to supervise. 

These ideas he daily carried out and Public School 
No. 69 became noted as one of the best disciplined 
schools in the city — a reputation it may be added, by 
way of emphasis, it honestly deserved. 



ment 



2 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

It was under these conditions— with children trained 
to a wholesome respect for school duties, with teachers 
eager to put forth their best efforts for the children and 
the school, and with a principal level-headed, capable 
and broad-minded— that the idea of pupil self-govern- 
ment was conceived and successfully applied. 

When I was appointed to that school in 1893 I found 
there the custom of allowing the pupils from the upper 
grades to meet as a class society during the last hour of 
each school week. The avowed purpose of this was to 
give these pupils an opportunity to learn concretely how 
to conduct meetings and to supplement informally the 
regular studies of the grade. I was present at these 
meetings and from the first became greatly interested 
in them. For each meeting the committee prepared an 
elaborate program consisting of readings, declamations, 
essays, and debates, and I was surprised at the zeal with 
which they entered upon their tasks. But what attracted 
my attention most was the orderly manner in which the 
pupils conducted themselves and the cheerful manner 
in which they responded to orders. 

This set me to thinking, and it was not long before I 
came to this conclusion: That the moral influence of 
these meetings far surpassed in value their intellectual 
influence. With this idea now uppermost in my mind, 
I studied these weekly gatherings, no longer as means to 
knowledge and intellectual power but as occasions for 
training in self-control, self -initiation and self-direction. 

I was now in possession of these facts: That the 
pupils enjoyed having a voice in their own government. 



INTRODUCTION 3 

that they showed a disposition to support such a govern- 
ment and that their experience in self-direction was 
exerting a beneficial influence upon them. These led me 
to consider the advisability of attempting a wider appli- 
cation of the principle of self-government. 

For some time I wavered in my determination, but 
eventually I announced to my pupils my intention of 
conferring upon them the right of self-government, and 
called upon them to prove themselves worthy of this 
privilege. At the next regular meeting, officers were 
chosen, and a constitution adopted— thereafter, self- 
government, so far as it concerned the class-room, had 
begun its empirical existence, for after this, so long as I 
remained in that school, the discipline and management 
of the class devolved upon the children themselves. 

One word only in reference to this, my first experi- 
ment in pupil self-government. It had its trials and its 
tribulations as well as its successes, for my ignorance of 
the subject was offset by my enthusiasm for it. On the 
whole, however, it proved worthy of the faith reposed in 
it. 

The movement began to spread, first to one class, then ^*s Spread 

to another until nearly all the upper grades in Public ]f^ " ^® 

Scnool 
School No. 69 had adopted it, while the school as a jj^^ gg 

whole soon proved that it was not insensible to its influ- 
ence. Thus I recall that some time before the formal in- 
troduction of this scheme of self-government into the 
school, the pupils on several occasions met in the large 
assembly hall, elected their officers and conducted the 
business which called them together. On one such occa- 



PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 



sion occurred the presentation of a flag by a Grand Army 
Post ; on another an inter-elass debate ; on another the 
formation of an Anti-Cigarette League, which continued 
its meetings for two or three months to try delinquents, 
the public opinion of the school acting as a sort of court 
which meted out punishment to those who had broken 
their pledges. The atmosphere of Public School No. 69 
was charged with self-government, but only occasionally 
did this spirit manifest itself. It needed a dynamic 
idea to set it free and to make it a conscious force in 
education. This idea, strange as it may seem, wa^ sup- 
plied by one who had no direct connection with schools— 
Mr. Wilson L. Gill, a remarkable man of great personal 
character and originality, who, in 1891, had organized the 
Patriotic League of America. Mr. Gill was the presi- 
dent of that league, and I became a life member of the 
parent league, and afterward president of a subordinate 
league or chapter. Our tasks and sympathies led to a 
close acquaintance, and many and earnest were our con- 
ferences looking to the promotion of the purposes of the 
Patriotic League which concerned itself solely with the 
promotion of national loyalty and patriotism. 

Mr. Gill took great interest in my school work, 
especially in the direction of the development of per- 
sonal character in the pupils. He visited my class-room 
frequently. He learned of the School Patrol which had 
been inaugurated years before and which was similar in 
all respects to the Police Department of the present 
self-government school; he saw other evidences also of 
an incipient movement toward self-government, and 



INTEODUCTION 5 

with prophetic insight he recognized its possibilities and 
seizing the psychologic moment gave breath, coherence 
and definiteness to this movement. Mr. Gill took self- 
government out of the narrow sphere of class manage- 
ment and out of the category of sporadic manifestations 
in school government and broadened it into a general 
means of moral training. He did more than this; it 
was the stimulus of the Patriotic League and of his own 
personality, the formation of a chapter from among the 
pupils of No. 69, and his own enthusiasm in the cause 
of good government, which directed my attention to 
kindred subjects and ultimately led me to traverse the 
initial stages of self-government. 

When this scheme of pupil self-government proved a '^^^ Intro- 
success in Public School No. 69, it rapidly found its ^, „ . 

' . . . the Scheme 

way into a number of other schools, both in this and in j^^q other 

other cities, having been introduced there by those who Schools 
either had observed its operation or had read of it in 
some periodical. 

Now this show of faith in its efficiency and its rapid Causes of 
development requires a word of explanation, and this . "^ °^^ *^* 
is offered by the general prevalence of pedagogical zeal 
in all new movements, by the nature of the movement 
itself and by the character of the scheme. 

Teachers, particularly if they are progressive, are 
ever ready to adopt any new idea or movement which 
bids fair to result in benefit to their pupils. And while 
they may be often charged, and justly too, with trying 
the new before they have given it sufficient considera- 
tion and thought there is no occasion for the charge. 



6 PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 

For there are empirical movements whose truths, only 
vaguely felt, are yet acquiesced in by the educational 
world, long before they are abstracted from the mass of 
experience which they sanction, but in which they lie 
hidden from casual observation. Pupil self-government 
belonged to this class. Its early introduction marked 
the beginning of the empirical stage of its existence, and 
this stage called only for faith in the movement and for 
a knowledge of the mechanics of the scheme. 

Furthermore, the scheme itself was an allurement 
which no one with any spark of professional sentiment 
could have withstood. For it was simple and concrete — 
it called for a mere transfer of authority from teacher 
to pupil and for a simple form of government fashioned 
after the City Charter. It was, besides, lofty in aim — 
the formation of character was its goal. This was a direct 
appeal to the practical and to the ideal side of the teach- 
er's nature; for it professed to develop in the child a 
habit of right conduct by training him in the very vir- 
tues which constitute morality. 
Cause of Its If we now look back at this movement from the van- 
Failure tage ground of experience and increased knowledge we 
can readily explain the cause of its general failure. 
For we can now see that there was connected with this 
movement from its very beginning an element of weak- 
ness which made itself felt in almost every instance in 
which the scheme was tried, and which eventtially east 
discredit upon the idea of pupil self-government. This 
element of weakness was the false inference which was 
drawn from the original observations of the workings of 
the scheme. 



INTEODUCTION 7 

It is natural for the average mind not only to rest 
content with observation but to interpret intellectual 
associations as cause and effect. Such minds do not in- 
vestigate because they do not feel the necessity for in- 
vestigation ; they do not look beneath the surface because 
they do not suspect the existence of reasons other than 
the superficial. But they do rest satisfied with the cor- 
rectness of their own perceptions ; and they do take for 
granted the validity of their conclusions concerning the 
relations they perceived existing between contiguous 
phenomena. 

This, then, explains why those who first observed self- 
government in operation made their false inference. 
They simply yielded to the tendency to associate as means 
and ends the mechanics of the movement and the results 
of good training which were in evidence. They saw 
order ; they saw an admirable school spirit ; they saw 
also, at the same time, the scheme in operation ; and they 
cheerfully adopted the inference that the one was the 
outcome of the other. It never occurred to them to in- 
quire whether that spirit of cheerful obedience existed 
before the introduction of the scheme— a mode of pro- 
cedure sometimes indulged in by ordinary mortals — 
but it did occur to them to become enthused with a de- 
sire to imitate what they observed. "What they ob- 
served was not the spirit or the vitalizing force of the 
scheme, but its form and its mechanism; so that what 
they introduced into their own schools was not self-gov- 
ernment, but government by children ; and these mani- 
fested a temporary interest in the scheme, not because 



8 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

it found a response in their hearts, but because its 
novelty, supported by the enthusiasm of the teacher, 
attracted them for the time being. 

I need scarcely add that I am not one of those who 
believe that the mere introduction of the scheme of self- 
government among children will necessarily insure their 
training in moral conduct. On the contrary, I believe : 

1. That, so far as it concerns the elementary schools, 
civic government is primarily an end. As a means, it is 
of little or no value to the untrained child ; for the mere 
knowledge of the machinery of government, even the 
participation in it, will not make a child truly self- 
governing. In this I differ radically from Mr. Gill, and 
I assign this difference of opinion to the fact that I view 
this question from the standpoint of the practical teacher 
rather than that of the enthusiastic theorist. For both 
experience and observation as well as theory have con- 
vinced me. 

2. That a certain amount of training in right conduct 
is an essential prerequisite to the introduction of the 
scheme. Self-government, as the formal expression of 
the moral self, presupposes the existence of an inner ap- 
preciation of right conduct, of a tendency to right judg- 
ment when confronted by deliberation, and of a will 
that executes in the presence of what is conceived to be 
a duty. These bespeak a degree of moral development, 
the result of training. In other words, the introduction 
of self-government into a school is contingent upon the 
answer to the question : Are the conditions favorable to 
the reception of the scheme? If the answer is in the 



INTRODUCTION 9 

negative, the child's participation in the scheme of self- 
government is a mere formal act ; and the new rights and 
privileges with which the child is invested, finding no 
apperceiving moral mass which may interpret them in 
terms of duty, are liable to degenerate into license. If, 
however, the answer is in the affirmative, if the child 
possesses the essential training, then self-government 
should be introduced. 

3. That self-government, introduced under favorable 
conditions, has the following advantages: 

a. It teaches the child the fundamental notions of our 
government and the method of their application. 

b. It gives opportunity for expressions to become im- 
pressions. The ethical training the child receives in 
school is clarified, rationalized, and reinforced by this 
practical application. 

c. It gives the principle of action and reaction an 
opportunity for full play. As in all development along 
apperceptive lines, the processes which enter into the 
formation of character exert reciprocal influences upon 
each other. Ethical training assists in the appreciation 
of civic life; civic training aids in the upbuilding of 
character. In short, it may be made a means to higher 
moral development. 

d. It gives the teacher a concrete goal. This is an 
important consideration ; for the aims of education as 
enunciated are generally so vague that they are of little 
value as guides to practice. 

My practice all along has been in conformity with my 
conviction. When I was transferred from No. 69 as 



10 



PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 



Conforming first assistant to another school where I remained nearly 
four years, I failed to introduce this scheme there, not 
because I lacked enthusiasm for it, nor because I did 
not labor conscientiously in its behalf, but because all 
the conditions essential to its success were never present 
at one and the same time. And later, when I became 
principal of Public School No. 125, Manhattan, and had 
better opportunity to carry out my own ideas, I did 
not deem it safe to introduce self-government there 
until three years had elapsed from the day I took 
charge. 

For the success which attended this movement in this 
school, a large share of the credit is due to the teachers 
who were associated with me there. Their earnestness 
and zeal in behalf of the movement communicated them- 
selves to the rest of the school ; and their thoughtful and 
valuable suggestions, which I incorporated in the scheme, 
did much to improve and to broaden it. In this con- 
nection I desire, also, to make special acknowledgment 
of my indebtedness to two of my former teachers in Pub- 
lic School No. 125, Mr. Henry W. Fox and Mr. Alfred 
J. Appleby, who were indefatigable in the cause of the 
movement ; and to my District Superintendent, Dr. John 
H. Haaren, who not only gave the movement the benefit 
of his sympathy, encouragement and advice, but defended 
it in the face of attack, and advocated its adoption under 
proper conditions. 

Of my present school in its relation to the subject of 
self-government, I can say only that I have not been in 
charge of it long enough either to introduce this scheme 



INTEODUCTION 11 

or to state with any degree of exactness when it will be 

ready for it. Of this, however, I am certain : That with 

the added experience gained in Public School No. 125, 

and with the same District Superintendent to encourage 

the movement, the paving of the way for its introduction 

will not require as long a time as it would otherwise have 

done. 

My efforts along this movement during the past ten ^*^ 

years have been directed not so much to forward the ^ ^ , 
. Past and 

immediate development of this movement as to examine Future 
into its conditions and to study its relations to ethical 
and civic training in our schools. Up to the present 
time I think it has been well for the pupil self-govern- 
ment movement that it has been pushed from outside the 
schools and by amateurs rather than by professionals in , 
educational work. In the first stages of the movement 
those in the inside could not have given to it the necessary 
time and enthusiasm which were possible on the part of 
those who have had, for the time, no other care or 
thought regarding the schools. It is now time, I am per- 
suaded, that it should be studied carefully by all edu- 
cators, and its possibilities and limitations measured and 
understood. 

In our pedagogy we have studied the individual mind ; A Line of 
our educational philosophy is the philosophy of Individ- ■'■'^^""y 
ualism ; and we build on the foundation of personality. 
Is there not in school governtaent, as well as in civil 
government, such a thing as community intelligence, 
public opinion, esprit de corps: and may we not draw on 
this as the basis of apperception, not in the individual 



12 PUPIL SBLF-GOVEENMENT 

only, but also in the mass, so that we can build up the 
self-governing power, the principle of self-restraint 
throughout the school community by a sort of mutual 
emulation, a standardizing of the best as the rule of 
conduct? Is this not the secret of the instant success 
of pupil self-government in so many cases? 
Gonclusion In this spirit and with this thought I have made the 
study of the theory and practice of pupil self-govern- 
ment. 




jj OJ 



CHAPTER II 
ITS THEORY 

The term self-government has both a civic meaning Differentia- 
and an ethical meaning ; and it is essential for the proper *ion 
understanding and appreciation of the subsequent dis- 
cussion of this topic, that the difference between the 
two meanings be made clear at the outset. 

Self-government, as a civic conception, refers to the Definitionsi 
practice of individuals in shaping the conduct of the 
government under which they live ; and this practice 
includes the making of laws, their interpretation, and 
their execution. Self-government, as an ethical concep- 
tion, refers to the powers of individuals to shape their 
conduct in accordance with a preconceived moral stand- 
ard; and this power includes self-control and self-direc- 
tion—the ability to inhibit wrong impulses and to initiate 
proper acts. 

The civic idea deals with concrete acts ; the ethical Their 
idea, with character. But as moral acts are conditioned Relation 
by the moral tone of the individual, civic self-govern- 
ment, viewed either as an abstract right or as an actual 
manifestation, must seek justification for its origin and 
its continuance in ethical self-government. In other 
words, civic self-government must be regarded as the 

13 



14 



PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 



expression of ethical self-government, which is the 
impression. 

That popular opinion and practice uphold this view, 
only strengthens the validity of this statement. No 
one claims for a savage, barbarous, or semi-civilized 
people the right to political freedom, because it is con- 
ceded that for the purpose of successful self-government, 
a high degree of moral development is necessary. And 
what is true of a people is true also of an individual. 
This is evidenced by our conduct towards the young in 
denying them the right to freedom of action until such 
time as they have proven themselves capable of appre- 
ciating the rights, duties, and privileges which emanci- 
pation from external control entails — until their moral 
sense has been sufficiently developed. 

Moral strength is the basis for the right to f reedoim of 
action, self-direction, self-government; and the question 
of the means best adapted for its acquisition calls for 
first consideration. This will be complied with in the 
following exposition along psychologic lines. 

The conception of the organic unity of man makes 
valid the inference that every influence, no matter what 
its character, or origin, or aim, must of necessity affect 
each individual in his totality. The result of physical 
activity cannot be confined to the body, but is recognized 
in the intellect and in the moral tone of the individual ; 
intellectual activity evinces itself in the physical and in 
the moral nature of man just as truly as it does in its 
own special sphere ; while moral action, revealed in the 
development of character, is a determining factor in the 



ITS THEORY 15 

growth of the body and of the intellect. Effects cannot 
be isolated or confined within special limits, because from 
the very nature of man as a psychic being, there is a 
constant action, reaction, and interaction of all the ele- 
ments and phases which constitute the individual. 

And yet this view of the organic unity of man, while The Three- 
true as a general characterization of the psychic indi- fold 
vidual, is inadequate for a fuller conception of his Nature 
nature. For while the individual is always a one, a unit, , 
a totality, he is, at the same time, a trinity of body, in- 
tellect and character. So that, while it is true that what 
affects one element of this trinity affects also the other 
two, it is equally true that each element demands a 
specific and characteristic treatment for its development. 
The moral element as unmistakably calls for its specific 
aliment, for the purpose of growth, as does the body for 
physical exercise, and the intellect for studies ; and it is 
as unwise to substitute the means for developing one 
element for those necessary for another, and hope for 
ideal results to follow, as it would be to expect a duck's 
egg to hatch a chicken simply because it was set upon by 
the required length of time by a hen. Physical exercise 
alone is insufficient for moral and intellectual training ; 
studies by themselves cannot train the body ; can they, 
imder the same conditions, train the moral sense of the 
child? 

The conclusion is inevitable that moral training, in 
order that it may attain its goal, must be provided with 
means peculiarly adapted to exercise the will. This does 
not mean the mere concentration of the attention, the 



Specific 
Means 



16 PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 

Moral cultivation of the feelings, the formation of good habits 

Training i along specific lines of ^li^^i^, or the acquisition of 
Eequires -kirowlMge and power_,.-^nteresv syn^)athy, intelligence, 
and proper environment, are valuable adjuncts to any 
scheme of moral education, but only so because they 
assist in bringing about a habit of ready response to 
constituted authority. Obfijdience is the main element 
in moral training and therefore the conception of obedi- 
ence as a means, and of cheerful obedience as an end 
should be the guide of the teacher in his training of 
children. 
Present This is not the view that has obtained in recent years. 

Conception and, as a consequence, teachers have concerned themselves 
^^ ^ not so much with carrying out the real aim of discipline, 
as with searching for a method that would cajole the 
child into right behavior; and this has been carried to 
such an extent as to call forth a ringing protest from one 
whom every one will recognize as a man of conscience 
and public spirit.* He tells us in words fraught with 
power and insight, that ''submission to cajolery is not 
submission to authority," and that "the best and most 
fundamental lesson a child ever learns is to obey. ' ' And 
after assuring his readers that he is impelled by no 
sanguinary motives against the child, he continues, 
apropos of the moral training of children ; and his words 
deserve to be impressed upon the memory: "Therefore 
to know that every moral act that man or child caaa per- 
form has a fixed statute definitely relevant to it, is the 
very alphabet of ethics ; and it is because so much of our 
*Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst in Munsey's Magazine, April, 1906. 



ITS THEOEY 17 

home-training is skipping this alphabet that children are 
growing up without the ability to understand the para- 
graphs and chapters of this matter, and that the home 
becomes the nursery of adult anarchy. This does not 
TQcan that a child should be harnessed into a treadmill of 
continuous parental precept, and have no opportunity 
allowed him for the exercise of his moral judgment— a 
policy that would leave unexploited some of the very 
finest faculties of the incipient soul; but it does mean 
that whether the child does as his parent tells him, or 
does as he tells himself, his doing is to square with some- 
thing other than an inwardly contained authority. It 
means, furthermore, that what he does is not right be- 
cause he decided to do it, is not right because he thinks 
it is right, but right because it is in the line of the 
supreme law legislated for man to obey and in force 
before there was any man or child here to obey it. ' ' 

It means, lastly, that it is the duty of our public 
schools to insist upon obedience, not only because it is the 
law of the Universe, but because the future welfare of 
the child and the nature of the teacher as an educator 
demand this insistence. 

This statement is made unqualifiedly, although with 
a full appreciation of the nature of the obedience which 
the schools should strive to inculcate. And this surely 
is not a blind and unreasoning response to outward 
authority. The history of our institutions, the ideals 
upon which they are built, and the predestined future 
of the child as a citizen of our commonwealth, give in- 
controvertible evidence of the truth of this contention. 



18 



PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 



But it is an obedience, intelligent, voluntary, and clieer- 
ful, the result of motives which are sanctioned by the 
developed moral self. 

While this is the highest form of obedience and should 
be the goal of the teacher's endeavors; yet, as long as 
obedience remains the fundamental law of the Universe, 
and the chief element in character-building, so long must 
it be rendered to properly constituted authority. Obedi- 
ence should be self-initiated, voluntary, and cheerful, if 
possible ; compulsory, if need be ; for blind submission, 
particularly as a prerequisite to a higher form of obedi- 
ence, is better than license and anarchy. 

The attention will now be directed to method in moral 
training ; and for this purpose an attempt will be made 
to broaden the term apperception so as to include not 
only intellectual training to which present theory and 
practice have limited its activity, but also physical and 
moral training as well. The value of this step is self- 
evident, for its success will convert this principle from 
one of method in the intellectual field alone, to a general 
principle of education, from which may be deduced the 
method for developing the whole of the individual. 
Justification The ego responds to stimuli, initiates and carries into 
execution activities, and shows effects of influences, as a 
totality. It is, accordingly, inconceivable that nature 
which is uniform, simple, and economic, would impose 
upon this' same ego one law for the development of one 
class of its elementary manifestations, and another law 
for another class. On the other hand, it is more reason- 
able to assume the existence of one general law of 



Method in 
Moral 
Training: 
Appercep- 
tion 



ITS THEORY 19 

development; and this contention is borne out by the 
known facts of human growth and development. Prog- 
ress in the evolution of the physical, intellectual andi 
moral faculties, it is recognized, proceeds step by step, 
each marking a stage of mastery evolved out of a 
previous stage, and at the same time, a starting point 
for a later stage. In other words, in nature, what is, 
depends upon what has gone before. 

This has been elaborated under Intellectual Appercep- Intellectual 
tion as the process whereby new knowledge is assimilated Appercep- 
by relating it to similar knowledge previously acquired— 
which is but another way for saying that, for the pur- 
pose of development, there must exist, in the mind, an 
apperceiving mass with which to interpret the new, in 
order to enable it eventually to become an integral part 
of the mind's content and a means for a subsequent ap- 
perception. The success, then, of incoming knowledge- 
material in becoming integrated with existing knowledge, 
argues the presence of an apperceiving mass; while its 
failure to do so, argues the absence of this interpreting 
active material. 

From this it is inferred that the result of previous 
experience, and the development conditioned by it, are 
the specific elements of apperception ; and that the 
thought processes, and the physical and the moral activ- 
ities which accompany them, are the general manifesta- 
tions of the living organism. These are met with in 
every other activity as well; while the nature of the 
experience, whether physical, intellectual, or moral, and 
the development which this same experience makes 



20 



PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 



possible, determine the nature of the apperception. 

Now physical education is a training of the body to 
respond readily to stimuli by a successive grafting of 
new movements upon those previously mastered and 
controlled. And what is this but apperception in the 
physical world — a process guided, it is true, during its 
activity, by the intellect and by the moral sense, but deal- 
ing throughout with physical phenomena, and because 
of this relating of new bodily exercises with the old, re- 
sulting ultimately in a new muscular habit or in a finer 
articulation and complexity of muscular movement? 

Again, moral education is the process of developing in 
the child a habit of cheerful response to duty by utiliz- 
ing the results of his previous moral training as a basis 
for his subsequent larger moral insight and power ; for 
even here nature makes no jumps, but directs develop- 
ment along the predestined course of its evolution. And 
what is this but moral apperception, and the physical 
and the intellectual manifestations accompanying it, a 
condition to its activity? 

The chief value of the foregoing discussion lies in the 
realization that while physical apperception issues in 
muscular movement, intellectual apperception in oral 
or written expression , and moral apperception in moral 
action ; they are all subject to the same conditions, 
method, and law, during the process of their develop- 
ment. This being so, moral education, which is of chief 
concern to the subject of self-government, will find sug- 
gestion and guide in the well-known facts of intellectual 
apperception. 



ITS THEORY 21 

Now in the latter, no test or application can be made 
of any rule, law, maxim, or principle, unless each has 
first been induced; or, to express this idea in terms of 
the Formal Steps, no application of either is possible be- 
fore it has passed through the stages of preparation, 
presentation, comparison, abstraction, and generaliza- 
tion. But self-government, whether viewed from the 
standpoint of ethics or of civics, whether as the result of 
good influences manifested in the ability of moral self- 
direction, or as the moral self in concrete acts, is the 
application-step of moral apperception. It therefore 
presupposes the existence of tendencies of right action 
as the result of previous moral training. 

Assuming, then, that the whole life of the individual Material 
up to the moment when he is about to express himself in ^°^ Moral 
action, has been one general preparation for this action — raming 
that his life has been one constant process of activity 
and passivity and of storing up a moral apperceiving 
mass, moral perceptions, and the results of unconscious 
comparisons, abstractions, and generalizations ; and the 
force of the claim for a proper preparation* previous to 
the introduction of self-government, becomes more and 
more evident. 

*Include3 all the formal steps except application. 



CHAPTER III 
ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS ^ 

Self-government calls for a preparation, on the part 
of the child, which will result in a degree of his moral 
development necessary for him to appereeive his new 
rights and obligations. This is the pivotal thought— that 
proper preliminary training is essential to the success 
of any scheme of self-government, and this presupposes : 
I. The Existence of a Proper Ideal 

Government which takes into account the conduct of 
the moment only and disregards character-building, or 
discipline which looks only to an expiation for past 
offenses, has its value in maintaining an outwardly well- 
regulated school, but it does not touch the mainspring 
of the child's moral nature, does not start into being 
those activities, which, properly exercised, ultimately 
result in character. The principal or the teacher, who 
works without a definite moral aim, may labor con- 
scientiously and incessantly in the cause of education, but 
he will fail to realize his hopes. He must have con- 
stantly before him the ideal embodied in some concrete 
form. 

The ideal now calls for execution; for schools are not 
retreats for philosophers. They are workshops where 

22 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 23 

practical men and women are engaged in molding and 
in fashioning children by prescribed means, and along 
prescribed lines into likenesses of the concrete aim — the 
self-governing child. To do this successfully requires — 

II. A Competent Principal 

There is no factor of the school more important than 
he. A school reflects the character of the man at its 
head. A weak man engenders in the mind of the child 
a contempt for authority. A strong man calls forth the 
very best of his possibilities. A weak principal makes 
of the school a place of drudgery for the teacher, and 
of irksomeness to the child. A good principal creates 
an atmosphere of a well-regulated home for both teacher 
and pupils. 

Now as to the specific qualifications of a competent 
principal. These are: 

Firmness is essential : first, because the laws of habit Firmness 
demand a systematic repetition of the activity ; secondly, 
because the nature of the child is such that it inclines 
people to humor him rather than to train him. The 
native weakness of the child makes a strong appeal to 
the emotional side of the adult. This in a great many 
instances leads the adult to adopt a training which is 
based upon his own weakness and nearsightedness. 
Kational training takes it for granted that the child 
represents an early stage in the evolution of the human 
being. So that for the purpose of growth certain of his 
tendencies and habits must be eradicated, and others 
must be nourished, exercised, and developed. The child 



24 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

is not an end in himself. He is not born the man and 
the citizen; he must be developed into the one and the 
other, and, therefore, must be accustomed to restraint 
and to submission. He must be restrained because his 
inborn selfishness, his tendency toward license, his lack 
of intelligence and of moral power preclude him from 
grasping understandingly the real purpose of life. He 
must be made to yield submission because his future- 
environment will impose this as a condition to his wel- 
fare. These ends can be brought about only by invest- 
ing the control and direction of children with firmness. 
The training of children cannot be reduced to an auto- 
matic process — one which takes no account of the vary- 
ing conditions under which it operates. On the con- 
trary, to be rational, it must take into consideration 
the individuality of the particular child, his environ- 
ment, his previous training, and the probable result of 
a modification in the method of handling him. Human 
character is the result of heredity and environment at 
work on human instincts and for this reason each indi- 
vidual stands out a distinct and discriminated person- 
ality. For this reason also each individual must be 
handled in the light of his own peculiar personality, if 
it is to be hoped to accomplish his reformation, improve- 
ment or development. This proper handling, this modi- 
fication of means to suit the exigencies of each particular 
instance, or individuality, is tact — the most valuable, and 
at the same time the rarest, instrument at the disposal 
of the teacher. Firmness, it is true, is a condition to the 
successful management of a school, but when it assumes 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 25 

the characteristics of a blind adherence to rules, it loses 
its human element — character, and becomes worse than 
useless as a means of successful training, unless it is 
leavened by tact. 

A principal may possess both firmness and tact, and Patience 
fall far short of being an ideal trainer of children. He 
must have, besides, patience; for no one who is not re- 
signed to plod step by step, and, at the same time, bear 
the innumerable petty annoyances incidental to the train- 
ing of children, can successfully cope with the task of 
transforming the wee mite of gross animalism into a 
rational and moral being. The adult as a rule forgets 
the difficulties he encountered in attaining to knowledge 
and power, and sees only the results of his development. 
As a consequence, he overrates the child 's ability to grasp 
and appreciate what is presented to him, or he under- 
estimates the difficulties which confront him. To offset 
this unfortunate tendency requires common sense and 
patience. 

Just as the imparting of information presupposes ^*'^^" 
previous acquirement of knowledge, so the training to ®^^ 

right conduct presupposes a previous acquirement of 
the power of self-restraint and self-direction. Firmness * 
without self-mastery degenerates into cruelty; tact be- 
comes a manifestation of right tendencies thwarted by 
a weak will, and patience a spasmodic virtue. Again, 
example affects the very fibre of the child's moral 
development, for his early life is one constant expression 
through imitation, and it imitates what it sees, good or 
bad. A principal or a teacher who habitually or even 



26 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

frequently loses his self-control in the presence of the 
pupils, is no more fitted to train children than he is to 
discharge judicial functions among adults. Both these 
offices require a firmness of purpose which is not easily 
swayed by extraneous, unreasonable, or unworthy con- 
siderations or motives ; a tact which is intuitive and which 
deals out punishments with an eye to their main values ; 
a patience born of the inner appreciation of the Golden 
Eule ; and a self-mastery which evinces itself in a calm- 
ness of judgment which is not easily ruffled. 
Sympathetic It is true that the aim of education is to train the 
Insight Into child to a cheerful obedience to law; and that, in conse- 
Child- quence, it is the duty of the teacher to direct all activities 

and influences towards developing in the pupil a good 
moral character. For society, which later adopts the 
child as a member of its own family, and invests him 
with all its rights, privileges and benefits, has a right to 
impose this qualification upon him. And yet the child 
also has certain rights of which neither society nor 
school can justly deprive him. A child, for instance, 
has an inherent right to happiness, for Nature has so 
constituted him that he finds joy in the mere fact of 
living — in the spontaneous activity with which he is 
endowed, to bring about his own development ; and fail- 
ure to cairy out this suggestion in a scheme of education 
must inevitably result in violence to child-nature, and in 
harm to his development. 

There are presented here, then, two claims— that of 
society which necessitates the employment of restraint 
and that of the child whose nature rebels at restraint. 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 27 

However, it is not difficult to reconcile these opposing 
claims, or at least to give to each its just degree of 
importance. Society, in the first place, inlposes the aim 
of education, for the chief concern of society is the 
finished product of education. In the second place, the 
child imposes the method of education, for it is only in 
so far as he is trained physically, intellectually, or 
morally, along the natural course of his development, 
that he will respond in a degree of power possible to 
him. And yet, the child is weak. The larger part of 
his humanity is still in his future, while his selfish in- 
stincts play the more prominent parts in influencing 
his behavior. So that the only conclusion to be reached 
is, that while the aim, so long as it is conceived of as 
such, must remain unchanged, and is at liberty to 
modify method to an extent necessary to carry out the 
purpose of education, it must not proceed beyond this 
point — the nature of the child demands recognition. 

Sympathetic insight will satisfy this demand. By 
means of it the trainer of children learns to know and 
to recognize their natural weaknesses, the limitations of 
their powers, and the forms of appeal best suited to their 
development ; and with the aim of education as his con- 
stant guide, he leads and directs, he controls and trains, 
without either the sentimentality which is the special 
prerogative of the educational theorist, or the harshness 
of the weak and ignorant. Happiness as the outcome 
or the accompaniment of law, order, and obedience, is 
his motto. 

Enthusiasm is needed to counteract the deadening 



28 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

Enthusiasm effects which dull routine and endless repetitions en- 
gender. Enthusiasm touches the mainspring of the 
child's inner life, and stirs him to think, to feel, and to 
act along moral lines. In the scheme of self-government, 
particularly, is enthusiasm not only valuable but essen- 
tial. The adult comes to a realization of his civic duties 
only when his indignation is awakened, or his enthusi- 
asm is aroused. The child, having less at stake, and 
with intellect and will undeveloped, surely needs the 
spur which enthusiasm alone can give him. 

Honesty There are principals who never see any wrong done by 

children. They have a way of looking and not seeing, 
of hearing and not heeding. This is reprehensible from 
two standpoints — from the standpoint of the principal 
himself, and from the sitandpoint of the child. So far 
as it concerns the principal, this practice shows either a 
condition of mind characterized as "wool-gathciring," or 
a condition of morality which is not above that of the 
ordinary citizen, who is aware of civic corruption, but 
is too busy with his own private affairs to pay any at- 
tention to it. And while the ordinary citizen argues 
illogically but effectively that he pays the politician to 
govern him, just as he pays the minister to pray for 
him, and cannot, therefore, be expected to do the work 
of either without stultifying himself in the eyes of the 
practical business man, the principal finds no such justi- 
fication, for he at least is paid to hear and see, and 
correct and improve. 

But it is the child himself, whom this reprehensible 
practice concerns most. For evil tendencies and habits 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 29 

are no more eradicated by ignoring their existence, or 
by giving them an external polish, than are bodily sores 
cured by shutting the eyes to their presence or by hid- 
ing them under a silken bandage. The child who is so 
unfortunate as to contract a moral disease should be 
dealt with in the same manner as he who suffers from a 
physical ailment, by applying remedial agencies. These 
may assume various forms depending upon the nature 
of the physical illness. It may be only just a little pure 
air and sunshine to recall the ruddy glow of health to 
the cheek ; it may be a sedative to quiet the fever in the 
blood, or it may be the scalpel to excise the angry tumor. 
And so with moral diseases also. One may require 
merely a word of reproach; another may call for a 
sterner treatment, while a third may demand still more 
heroic measures. But each demands attention, otherwise 
each will increase, and spread and become chronic — a 
source of suffering to the patient, of menace to his 
neighbors, and a constant indictment of the man who is 
responsible for this condition. 

There are three ways in which a principal may dis- Diligence 
cipline a school : One is by looking wise and dignified, 
and letting the classes and the teachers take care of one 
another and each other as best they may. Of course this 
is not the ideal method, except for the principal who 
believes in an unruffled existence for himself, even at the 
expense of both pupils and teachers. Another way is 
by making the teacher responsible for his class, then 
formulating rules for his guidance, and seeing to it that 
he carries them into execution. The great trouble with 



30 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

this method is that while the principal shows a laudable 
desire to do his duty as he conceives it his efforts are 
misdirected. He generally expends his energies in super- 
vising and in criticizing the teachers instead of utilizing 
them in training the pupils. He becomes a positive in- 
jury to the school. For, whereas a teacher, left to his 
own devices, will eventually work out his own salvation, 
and perhaps be the stronger for it as a disciplinarian, 
he will lose heart, and become weak, dissatisfied, and 
hardened when he is circumscribed by rules and regula- 
tions, and his shortcomings are constantly held up to 
him as a goad to greater efforts and a warning of the 
consequences of his superior's displeasure. Diligence 
loses its characteristic of usefulness when it originates 
in narrow-mindedness. On the other hand, when it is 
the most effective means for the uplifting of the whole 
school its activity manifests itself in a spirit of help- 
fulness. 
Helpfulness A school is best disciplined when the principal himself, 
a broad-minded and liberal-hearted man, takes complete 
control of its management, holds himself responsible for 
its conditions, and obtains the co-operation of each one 
connected with it, in maintaining the highest possible 
standard of efficiency. Of course this entails a great 
deal of labor— of constant visitation, and supervision, 
and correction and assistance ; but it is the only proper 
way to manage a school and to train its pupils to right 
conduct. 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 31 

III. Capable Teachers 

While the spirit of the principal animates the school 
as a whole and gives aim, inspiration and motive to the 
teacher, and a standard of conduct to the child, in the 
last analysis it is the teacher who more directly influ- 
ences the child. If, then, a competent principal is essen- 
tial to a school, much more so are competent teachers. 

But where are such teachers to be found? The an- 
swer is— In each school where there is a principal able 
and Availing to train them. It requires no greater quali- 
fications to become a good trainer of teachers than those 
essential to a good trainer of children. All it requires 
is a broad-mindedness that can encompass both children 
and teachers in its liberality; a heart that feels for the 
teacher, at the same time that it goes out to the children. 
A school with a number of incompetent teachers points v 
unmistakably to an incompetent principal at its head. 

There are two characteristics which a teacher should Quietness 
especially possess, outside of those previously enumer- 
ated as qualifications of the successful principal. These 
are quietness and loyalty. A quiet voice, a quiet man- 
ner, a quiet way of doing things, is a mark of refinement 
that goes a long way in making a school what it is in- 
tended to be — a refined home for the children. And 
this impels to the remark, treasonable in the extreme, that 
schools are instituted not for spelling, nor for geography, 
nor even for grammar, but primarily for the moral train- 
ing. Now one of the best means for bringing the proper 
moral atmosphere into the class-room is quietness ; for 
children learn to imitate and they form habits. They 



32 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

also learn to admire the quiet teacher, for he holds in 
reserve a fund of energy which he can draw upon when 
the occasion arises. 
Loyalty There has never been a law passed but there has been 

some one who has thought it superfluous or even worse. 
This is natural when we consider the great diversity of 
characters and interests of the people who are affected 
by the law. The same holds true in the management of 
a school. No one rule, emanating from the one in author- 
ity, will please all; yet while all cannot be satisfied, all 
can be loyal; nay, all must be loyal. A well-regulated 
school has an ideal toward which it is striving daily. 
Loyalty assists its progress, disloyalty retards it. A dis- 
loyal spirit in a school more than offsets the good in- 
fluence of a capable, honest, and unselfish principal, and 
communicates itself to the children, who reap irreparable 
harm. A disloyal teacher is unworthy of his calling. 
IV. Gradual Introduction of the Scheme 

The change from the monarchical to the democratic 
form of government must not be too sudden, or even the 
best-disposed will lose their balance and act irrationally. 
/. Give the children no more privileges than they can 
assimilate at any one time, and let them apperceive these 
before granting them any others. The monitorial sys- 
tem in class-rooms, on the stairs and in the yards, acting 
in co-operation with the teachers, is an excellent starting- 
point. Classes in charge of children during the tempo- 
rary absence of teachers, are a step forward in the right 
direction. Debating societies presided over by one of 
their own number are excellent. 



ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS 33 

V. Power to Enforce Obedience 

That teachers are not always given sufficient power Means 
to enforce obedience is not due to disbelief in the truism *"d Ends 
that for the purpose of any specific end, adequate means 
must be provided. On the contrary, all believe in this 
self-evident truth. A child knows he can raise a certain 
weight, and will feel aggrieved, and justly, if he is 
ordered to raise one that requires more strength than 
he possesses to lift it. The botanist knows that the sap 
rises in the tree because sufficient force is exerted for 
that purpose ; and the intimation of a withdrawal of a 
part of the force without affecting ultimate results, will 
strike him as humorous. The astronomer knows that 
the heavenly bodies move in their orbits in response to a 
force adequate to the task assigned to them; and no 
amount of sophistry will convince him to the contrary. 

Why, then, is this equation between means and ends Past 
ignored in child training? The answer is: Because of Conception 
the misconception of the purpose of childhood. For 
centuries, the importance of the child lay in his becom- 
ing, and not in his being. In obedience to this idea, 
education concerned itself with results and gave little 
heed to the manner of their attainment, simply formu- 
lating the general direction to act the aim— to undergo 
hardship as a training for physical endurance, to exer- 
cise in abstract reasoning for mental acumen, and to in- 
dulge in meditation and prayer for the attainment of 
sanctity. The child was left out of consideration, be- 
cause humanity had not yet learned to question the child 



34 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

concerning his own training. Childhood was overlooked 
in the contemplation of developed manhood. 
Present The present conception began with Rousseau. His 

Conception ^Yea. for the child, an appeal against the unnatural con- 
ditions of his day, has had the effect of awakening 
humanity to the sublime truth that childhood had an 
inherent right to happiness. No man ever before 
preached a nobler doctrine, and nobly humanity re- 
sponded to it— so nobly, indeed, that its ideas upon 
child-training underwent a complete change. To-day, 
the child is exalted as the educational focus; he sets 
the aim, he points to the source of knowledge, and he 
directs the educative process. To-day manhood is over- 
looked in the contemplation of childhood. 
The True The true value of the child is found not in his child- 

Conception hood, but in his latent manhood. It is the developed 
moral being who concerns society primarily — the child 
being only a means to an end. And as the claim of 
society is of more importance than that of the child, 
only so much happiness can be demanded for the child 
as is consistent with his proper training. 
Conclusion Society, then, has the right to impose the aim of edu- 
cation, and in the carrying out of this aim sufficient 
power should be granted to enforce obedience. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHEME 

As has been stated in the Introduction, the writer Immediate 
had been principal of Public School No. 125, Manhattan, ^'reparation 
for exactly three years before he decided to introduce 
self-government in the four upper grades of the school. 
He announced this intention to the pupils during the 
morning assembly and appointed a day for the electioii 
of officers for the self-government school. A day later 
he visited the class-rooms of the four upper grades, 
explained briefly the purpose, form, and extent of the 
self-government scheme, and expressed the hope that 
the pupils would prove themselves worthy of the great 
trust reposed in them by their teachers and the principal. 

On the day appointed for the election, after the close 
of the regular school session, the pupils of these upper 
grades met, according to directions, in the assembly 
room, where the following preamble and charter were 
read to them: 

Charter of Self -Government School 125 

Whereas, the pupils of Public School 125, Manhattan, Preamble 
The City of New York, have demonstrated by their con- 
duct in the past that they are prepared to assume the 
responsibilities of self-government, and that they are 
capable of appreciating its benefits, 

35 



36 



PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 



Name 



Purpose 



This Charter 

is hereby granted to them for the purpose of forming 
Self-Government School 125, that it may assist in their 
guidance, training and improvement. 

Bernard Cronson, Principal 

Article I 

This association shall be known as Self-Government 
School 125. 

Article II 



The purpose of this association is to train its members 
in and for self-government and citizenship. 

Article III 

Extent Self-Government School 125 shall include the building 

and grounds of Public School 125, and its authority 
shaU extend wherever the pupils of Public School 125 
may be found. 

Article TV 

Divisions Sec. 1. Each class shall constitute a borough and 
of the City shall be designated in the same way as the class it 
represents. 

Sec. 2. All pupils admitted to citizenship under Ar- 
ticle VI, Sec. 3, shall constitute a borough of the city, and 
shall be known as the Merit Borough. 

Article V. 

Depart- The government of the city shall consist of three de- 

ments partments : Legislative, Executive, Judiciary. 



THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHEME 37 

Article VI 

Sec 1. All students of the school, from 6 B to 8 B in- 
clusive, shall be citizens of the city. 

Sec. 2. Any other class, from 5 A to 6 A inclusive, 
may join the association, provided its application is en- 
dorsed by the teacher and is approved by the Principal. 

Sec. 3. Clause I. Any pupil of the school, from 4 A 
to 4 B inclusive, who has been rated A in conduct, and, 
at least, B in lessons, and who can pass a satisfactory 
examination in accordance with Section 3, Clause III, 
may be admitted to citizenship. 

Clause II. Examinations for admission to citizenship 
may be held on the third school Friday of each and 
every school month at three o'clock, under the direction 
of the Principal, or of some teacher designated by the 
Principal. 

Clause III. The examination shall consist of reading, 
writing, spelling, interpretation and appreciation of this 
Charter. 

Article VII 

Sec. 1. It shall be the duty of all citizens to attend Duties of 
all elections and general meetings, to aid in the strict Citizens 
enforcement of the several articles of this charter, and 
to do everything possible to promote the welfare of the 
school. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of citizens to be courteous 
and kind to all with whom they come in contact. 

Sec. 3. It shaU be the duty of the citizens to avoid 
anything which violates the law of the State or City, or 
which interferes with the rights of the citizens thereof. 



38 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

Article VIII 

Legislative Sec. 1. The legislative body shall be known as the 
Department Bo^rd of Aldermen. 

Sec. 2. It shall consist of two members from each 
borough, elected by the citizens thereof. 

Sec. 3. The members of the Board of Aldermen shall 
be elected to serve one-half of the school term. 

Sec. 4. The presiding officer of the Board of Alder- 
men shall be known as the President of the Board, and 
shall be chosen by the majority vote of those cast at a 
general election. 

Sec. 5. Clause I. Any member of the Board of Alder- 
men may, with the consent of the Principal, or of the 
teacher designated by the Principal, be removed from 
office when found guilty of any serious offense against 
the government or the school. 

Clause II. The seriousness of the offense shall be de- 
termined by the Principal, or by the teacher designated 
by the Principal. 

Clause III. A special election shall be held within 
two days to fill such a vacancy. 

Article IX 

Eights and Sec. 1. The Board of Aldermen shall have the power 

Duties of to pass such laws for the welfare of the school and its 

the Board citizens as shall not conflict with the higher authorities. 

Sec. 2. The Board of Aldermen shall meet on the 

second and fourth school Fridays of each and every 

school month at 3.15 o'clock. 

Sec. 3. Any Alderman who is absent from two con- 



THE INTEODUCTION OF THE SCHEME 39 

secutive meetings without good cause shall have his or 
her place declared vacant. 

Sec. 4. No bill shall be passed except by a majority 
vote of all the members of the Board of Aldermen. 

Sec. 5. Every bill that is passed by the Board of Al- 
dermen, must be presented to the Mayor for his or her 
approval. 

Sec. 6. When a bill passed by the Board of Aldermen, 
receives the approval of the Mayor, it shall be a law. 

Sec. 7. If the Mayor disapproves the bill passed by 
the Board of Aldermen, he or she shall, within three 
days, return the said bill with his or her objections. 

Sec. 8. If the Board of Aldermen, however, express its 
approval of the measure by a two-thirds vote of all the 
members of the Board, the bill shall then become a law. 

Sec. 9. The Board of Aldermen shall convene as a 
trial court when any elected officer of the city is accused 
of neglect of duty or of violation of the charter. 

Article X 

Sec. 1. The executive powers of the government shall Executive 
be vested in a Mayor, elected by a majority of the votes I^epartment 
cast at a general election. 

Sec. 2. The term of office of the Mayor shall be one- 
half of the school term. 

Article XI 

Sec. 1. It shall be the duty of the Mayor to see that Rights and 
each and every law of the school is strictly enforced. ^"*!f^ ^ 

Sec. 2. Clause I. To aid him in the performance of his 
duties, the Mayor shall, with the approval of the Board 



the Mayor 



40 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

of Aldermen, create the following departments, and ap- 
point the chief officers thereof. 
Police Clause II. The Police Department shall suppress noises 

epar men ^^^ disorder in the yard, on the stairs, or anywhere in 
the vicinity of the school building. The department 
shall suppress truancy, lateness, and tardiness; and 
shall aid generally in making the school an orderly and 
law-abiding community. 
Health Clause III. It shall be the duty of the officers of this 

Department department to prevent the possible spread of disease 
through the accumulation of dirt and filth. The officers 
of this department shall, at stated regular periods, in- 
spect the general appearance of the citizens and of the 
halls, rooms and closets of the school building. Per- 
sistent violation of the laws of health and cleanliness 
shall be reported to the Police Department. 
Removal Clause IV. Any officer of the above departments may 

from Office ^^ removed from office by the Mayor, when the said 
officer has been found guilty of neglect of duty, or viola- 
tion of the laws of the school. 
Duties of Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Mayor to keep him- 
the Mayor ggjf informed of the doings of the various departments, 
and to communicate to the Board of Aldermen, at its 
regular meetings, a general statement of the government 
and improvement of the city. 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Mayor to recommend 
to the Board of Aldermen all such measures as he may 
deem expedient. 

Sec. 5. The Mayor may be removed from office when 
found guilty by the Board of Aldermen, sitting as a 



the Courts 



THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHEME 41 

trial court, of neglect of duty, or of any serious offense, 
against the laws of the school. Such removal must, 
however, receive the approval of the Principal, or of 
some teacher designated by the Principal. 

Sec. 6. "When the office of Mayor shall become vacant 
through the inability of the Mayor to perform his duties, 
or on account of absence or removal from office, the 
President of the Board of Aldermen shall act as Mayor. 

Article XII 

Sec. 1. The court shall have jurisdiction over all cases Powers and 
of violation of the laws and ordinances of the school. Duties of 

Sec. 2. The court shall have the power to summon any 
accused person before it. The court may also subpoena 
witnesses. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be denied the right of trial by 
jury. 

Sec. 4. The jury shall consist of six citizens, namely, 
the three judges of the court and three other citizens, 
whose names shall be drawn by the clerk of the court. 

Sec. 5. Conviction or acquittal shall be by the unani- 
mous vote of the jury. 

Sec. 6. No person shall be denied the right of being 
represented by counsel, or of calling witnesses in his or 
her behalf. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be tried twice for the same 
offense. 

Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of the court to discharge 
any accused person found innocent. 

Sec. 9. The court shall have the power to inflict, with 



42 PUPIL SELF-GOYEENMENT 

the approval of the Principal, or of some teacher desig- 
nated by the Principal, suitable punishments. 

Sec. 10. Any person who is disorderly in the court- 
room during a session of the court, or who disobeys an 
order of the court without sufficient cause, shall be guilty 
of contempt of court, and shall be liable to punishment. 

Sec 11. The city shall be represented in the court by 
the City Attorney. It shall be the duty of the City 
Attorney to prosecute all persons accused of violation of 
the law. 

Article XIII 

^^® Sec. 1. The judiciary power shall be vested in three 

D t e t J^^^^®^' elected by a majority vote of all the votes cast at 
a general election. 

Sec. 2. Any judge may, with the approval of the Prin- 
cipal, or of some teacher designated by the Principal, be 
dismissed from office, when found guilty by the Board of 
Aldermen, sitting as a trial court of neglect of duty, or 
of violation of any law of the school. 

Sec. 3. Court shall hold sessions every Tuesday, Wed- 
nesday, and Thursday afternoons at the close of the 
school sessions. 
How The conclusion of the reading was a signal for as 

Received boisterous a demonstration on the part of the children, 
as was ever heard at a packed primary. Whether this 
was due to the masterly delivery, to the lucid explana- 
tion of the plan, during the reading of the charter, or to 
the sudden recognition of their own importance, certain 
it is that the sense of propriety of the teachers who were 



THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHEME 43 

present was shocked beyond measure by this unseemly 
conduct. No such scene had ever before been enacted 
within these staid walls, and certainly no such self-ini- 
tiated and unrestrained enthusiasm or disorder, which- 
ever you like to call it, had been witnessed in this school 
since the present principal had taken charge of it. 

Fortunately all this had been foreseen, and the teach- 
ers had been forewarned to remain mere spectators of 
the whole proceeding no matter how strongly they were 
tempted to assume control. It required great powers of 
resistance and of inhibition, no doubt, to overcome the 
habit of regulating the child's every step, but in this 
instance, the teachers felt it would be senseless to give 
children self-government one minute, and the very next, 
to give them proof of the teacher's own lack of self- 
control. 

The children calmed down eventually. Exhaustion 
and the daily training they had received triumphed. 
However, they were in no condition or mood to take 
part in an election. The meeting was therefore ad- 
journed and the children advised to be prepared to 
nominate only the best pupils of the school for the 
various offices, as the Principal retained the right to 
reject any boy or girl whom he deemed unworthy of the 
honor. 

Two days later, the election took place, and resulted 
in the choice of a boy for Mayor, a boy for President of 
the Board of Aldermen, three girls as judges, and a boy 
for City Attorney. It musj; not be inferred from this 
that the citizens of Self-Government School 125 deemed 



44 PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 

the boys better fitted for the executive and legislative 
work of the government, and the girls better fitted for 
the judicial work. The fact is that, when the result of 
the election to the second office was made known, and 
there seemed to be a disposition to ignore the girls en- 
tirely in the matter of political patronage, the Principal 
suggested that courtesy to the female citizens demanded 
a more equitable distribution of the offices. This sug- 
gestion was acted upon to the great satisfaction of 
everyone present. 



CHAPTER V 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME 

The new administration assumed control immediately. 
The officers were enthusiastic, but they soon discovered 
that they could accomplish but very little, unless 
they called others to their assistance. This they did by 
establishing new offices whenever the need for them be- 
came apparent, and by appointing boys or girls to take 
charge of them. An assembly squad was first appointed 
and later a Chief of Police; and he in turn organized 
several squads to look after special parts of the school 
organization. A court clerk and a crier were deemed 
essential to the dignity of the court, and these were ap- 
pointed and trained. Process-servers were also found 
to be necessary adjuncts to every well-regulated govern- 
ment, and they were pressed into service most willingly. 

At present the scheme has almost reached its complete 
development. This may be seen by an examination of 
the following outline of it. 



45 



46 PUPIL SELP-GOVEEi'5'MENT 

ijijjg Self-Government School 125 

Developed Legislative Department 

Scheme 

Board of Aldermen 

consisting of 

Two Aldermen from each Borough, and the President of 

the Board 

The Board meets on the second and fourth Fridays of 
each month, at 3.10 p. m. 

Executive Department 

Mayor 

Police Department 

consisting of 

Assembly Squad in charge of Assembly 

Patrol Squad in charge of stairs and yards 

Truant Squad in charge of truancy 

Parole Squad in charge of paroled pupils 

Detective Squad, for secret investigation 

Health Department 

Department of Savings 

Educational Department 

Judiciary Department 

City Court 

Three Justices 

Court Clerk City Attorney 

The court is in session every Tuesday, Wednesday and 
Friday at 3.10 p. m. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME 47 

This consists of eight members of the school police— ^^®™**y 

Sc^uad 
four boys and four girls— who have complete charge of, 

and are responsible for the order, in the assembly room, 
and in the side rooms to which children congregate pre- 
vious to assembling in the main room. 

Public School 125, situated in the midst of an Italian Truancy 
population, has always had the problem of truancy to 
contend with, and the utilizing of the school police for 
breaking up this evil naturally suggested itself. Ac- 
cordingly, the Chief of Police organized a truancy squad 
consisting of six officers in charge of a captain. These 
were assigned to the duty of looking after the attendance 
of the ungraded class, which was made up of chronic 
truants, disorderly pupils, and children who had been 
paroled by the courts and sent to school, doubtless as a 
fit punishment. This class was first established in Pub- 
lic School 125, in 1902, and has been in existence ever 
since, to the advantage of the school and to the benefit 
of the children who comprise it. 

If a brief digression is permissible at this point, it Segregation, 
will be utilized for a consideration of the following : * * To Its Value 
prevent crime, we must begin in the public schools, weed 
out the bad boys, separate them from the others, put 
them in special classes with specially trained teachers 
to look after them. Our schools are radically defective 
in this respect. A few bad boys of fascinating, dominant 
natures, will corrupt many lads who are amiable and of 
good disposition."* 

A great many people question the wisdom of segregat- 
*The New York Herald, Oct. 5, 1902. 



48 PUPIL SELP-GOVEENMBNT 

ing this class of children because they are thereby de- 
prived of the benefit of contact with the better children. 
Now, while this is to some extent true, it is offset by the 
consideration that children, like their elders, are hero- 
worshippers, and, unfortunately, the type they, worship is 
the kind which shows a disposition to chafe under proper 
restraint. Deep down in the heart of every boy, there 
lurks a suspicion of admiration for his neighbor who has 
the hardihood to pit his own will against that of his 
teacher. It is only in rare instances that a class spirit 
is met with in the elementary school sufficiently de- 
veloped to frown upon any attempt on the part of a 
pupil to follow his uninhibited and unrestrained human 
instincts of direct self-preservation. Moreover there is 
a positive detriment to the rest of the class that wit- 
nesses repeated acts of disobedience; for each such act 
leaves behind it a baneful influence upon the minds and 
characters of the youthful observers of it. Indeed, the 
discipline of many a class has been ruined because an 
incorrigible boy has been allowed to remain in it— a 
Nemesis to himself, a torment to his teacher, and a source 
of contamination to his companions. Now, it may be 
allowable to ignore the fact that * * Every child, no matter 
how preverse he is, has the right to demand of us, as the 
chief element of his future welfare, that we train him to 
a wholesome respect for law."* According to present 
pedagogy, the child himself points the way to the teacher, 
and if he points a finger of scorn, it is the business of 

*Eeport of Male Principals' Association, Manhattan and 
the Bronx. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME 49 

the locus pueris to ''grin and bear it." It is also a 
sign of great wisdom, and knowledge, and piety, to ex- 
hort the teacher to exercise patience and love, when 
dealing with the unregenerate child, and to carry into 
effect the injunction that the more vicious and degraded 
the child is, the greater is the duty of the teacher to 
shower love and affection upon him. No objection can 
be raised against this concrete evidence of anxiety for 
the welfare of the child, even though developed human 
nature is fortunately so constituted that it loves the 
good, the true, the beautiful, and dislikes the bad, the 
false, the ugly. But human nature ought to know better, 
and to remember besides that the teacher is trained and 
paid to become upon occasion an emotionless, or an 
emotion-generating category. However, it is not un- 
reasonable, unwise, and impious, to claim that the other 
children of the class also have certain rights, as, for 
instance, equal consideration in the teacher's time 
schedule, and protection from vicious associations. 

But this is not self-government, only common sense, as 
the opponents of this scheme would say. A return then 
must be made to the subject under consideration. 

During the day, or at the close of the school session. The 
a list of absent truants is handed to the captain, who truancy 
distributes the names among his officers, to be reported _. ' , 
upon the following day. As the by-laws of the Board 
of Education practically forbid sending children on 
errands during school hours, the work of looking up 
truants must be done before nine, between twelve and 
one, and after three. Of course, this requires a great 



50 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

deal of sacrifice on the part of the truant officers, but as 
not one of them has ever made complaint, and there are 
always children ready to replace them in the event of 
resignation or removal, the conclusion is that it is a labor 
of love. 

The formation of this squad is due to the suggestion 
of one of the truant officers of the Board of Education.* 
Children who, for one reason or another, had been 
paroled by the courts, are required to present them- 
selves on a certain day of each week at the office of a 
district superintendent to give evidence of attendance 
and good conduct. When they fail to report, a truant 
officer connected with the office of the district superin- 
tendent, is sent to look them up, in order to persuade 
them to report the following week. The officer is gen- 
erally successful in convincing the child that it is a high 
crime and misdemeanor to fail to report to the educa- 
tional department, when he is paroled by the judicial 
department, upon a charge by the police department. 
However, if the officer is unsuccessful, there is no law 
on the statute books against a second and a third visita- 
tion, so long as the moral suasion idea is kept promi- 
nently in view. Nor is there any objection to new de- 
vices being employed to have the offender realize his 
moral obligation to report when it suits his convenience 
or fancy. 

This particular truant officer suggested that the duty 
of enforcing attendance of paroled boys at the office of 
the district superintendent on a specified day might 
*Miss Felicie Cafferata. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME 51 

properly devolve upon the School police. Accordingly, 
two officers were detailed to meet these children in the 
school yard at an appointed day and hour of each week, 
and to accompany them to the office of the district 
superintendent. If any fail to appear a scouting party 
is immediately dispatched and the search is continued 
until the delinquents are rounded up. 

There is no better means of teaching a child self- Department 
restraint and self-control than by training him to re- gavingg 
nounce concrete pleasures within his grasp in return for 
future good. With this idea in mind the Penny Provi- 
dent Bank was organized as a department of the School, 
and the children were invited to elect a treasurer and 
to deposit their pennies in the School City Savings Bank. 
They responded heartily ; and as proof of their practical 
insight and business sagacity, they elected to the office 
of treasurer one of the teachers who had the reputation 
of being the wealthiest in the building. 

This division of the Self-Government School directs Educational 
its activity along two different lines, but both tending 
to the same result. The one, still in embryo, concerns 
itself with a future attempt to have a day to be known 
as Field Day, * set apart, when the whole School City 
including its teachers and principal, will flee the city, 
and forget books, and lessons, and formal dignity, and 
hie to some near-by fields and woods, there *'to commune 
with nature, ' ' and be natural and free. The other is an 
attempt, already made, to have public speakers address 

*Field Day has since been held and was most successful. 



52 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

the School occasionally upon an assigned topic chosen 
from a list specially prepared for such occasions. This 
list will be found in the concluding chapter. 
Court Court sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays 

Sessions f qj. jjQyg . ^jjgy begin promptly at 3.10 p. m. and are 
open to visitors, both adults and pupils. On Wednes- 
days court is held in secret session to try female de- 
linquents, and no visitors are admitted. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SCHEME IN OPERATION 

Children are allowed to romp and play to their heart's The Yards 
content in the school yard until 8.40. The same holds 
true during the noon recess until 12.40. Then the 
Mayor, taking his stand where he can best command a 
view of the children, signals for silence. A moment later 
he signals again, this time as an order to the children to 
form into lines, and to the class presidents to take charge 
of their respective classes. When all is ready — when 
each pupil is in his proper place and position — and there 
is perfect silence in the yard, he gives the order to pro- 
ceed to the class-rooms. Each class is preceded by its 
president and is met at every landing by a representa- 
tive of the school government who is stationed there to 
assist in maintaining order. 

A Typical Morning Assembly 

Once in their class-rooms, the children are under the 
control of their class presidents until a few minutes of 
nine. Then a gong is sounded as a signal to prepare for 
the assembly, and the class president is replaced by the 
School official, who assumes complete charge until the 
return of the pupils from their morning exercises. 

At a signal given on the piano the children rise, form 

53 



54 



PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 



for the 
Assembly 



in line, and repair to the side-rooms. There they are 
arranged and counted by the school officer in charge, 
preparatory to assembling. 
Preparation The Mayor, up to this point, has been a watchful 
spectator of the work of his officers. If any laxity 
existed, it was his duty to discover it and to hold the 
officer in charge responsible for it ; for the Mayor is the 
only one who is directly responsible to the principal for 
the order of the school. He now assures himself that 
everything is in readiness— that the lines are formed 
for marching, and the four police officers are at their 
assigned stations in the assembly room — and he notifies 
the teacher at the piano to begin the playing of a march. 
In a very short time he stands facing nearly four hun- 
dred children who have gathered in the assembly room 
for their daily morning exercises. 

Standing erect, almost immovable, as befits the occa- 
sion, the children sing their morning hymn, then seat 
themselves quietly and simultaneously. The principal, 
or one of his teachers, arises, bids them a cheery "Good 
Morning, ' ' receives a hearty response in return and reads 
a short selection from the Scriptures. 
Relation It has several times been suggested that it would carry 

Between ^^^ ^j^g -^gg^ q£ self-government more completely if the 
ment Puuils''^^"^^^ were called upon to read the Bible every morning, 
and the The argument is valid, but impractical, so far as the 

Principal special aim in view is concerned; which is, never to 
divorce the school so completely from the authorities 
that are actually responsible for the running of the 
school, as to give the children the impression that they 
are absolutely independent of them. Children must at 



The 
Assemhly 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 55 

all times feel that they are responsible to higher authori- 
ties, just as adults are to the constitution which grants 
them special privileges. For this reason, the Scriptures 
are read by the principal or teacher, just to remind the 
children unobtrusively of the existence of this higher 
authority, although there can be no objection to the 
Mayor reading the Bible occasionally in the presence of 
the principal or teacher. Partly for the same reason, 
also, a teacher is present at the sessions of the court, to 
review the sentences of the judges before they are an- 
nounced ; and one is also within hailing distance of the 
yards, and occasionally passes through them ; and one 
is also present in the detention room, although the chil- 
dren themselves have complete control there. 

A song or two by the school, several recitations by 
pupils of a class specially assigned, and by volunteers 
who respond to the invitation by the Mayor, and it is the 
turn of the Health Department to begin its work. 

At a signal from the piano, the children lower their The Health 
desks and spread out their hands upon them. At the Squad at 
same time the captain and his squad of four assistants, Work 
two boys and two girls, rise from their seats and take 
their assigned stations, the captain in front of the school, 
beside the Mayor, and the Chief of Police and his assist- 
ants at each of the four sections into which the assembly 
room is divided. The piano continues playing softly, 
while the health officers, books and pencils in hand, 
march up and down the aisles, examining the hands, hair, 
shoes, and the general appearance of the pupils. Those 
who have been derelict (and very few of them are nowa- 



56 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

days, for eternal vigilance leads to cleanliness and neat- 
ness), are reported and later summoned to appear in 
court to answer to the charge of uneleanliness. 

If the conduct and the general appearance of the 
school have been satisfactory to the Mayor, he announces 
the fact by tapping a little bell, which is at his elbow. 
Immediately each child relaxes and turns to his neighbor 
for a social chat; for this is the signal for recess— a part 
of the morning exercise the children appreciate quite as 
fully as anything else on the program, speeches by the 
principal or visitors not excepted. However, a minute 
or two later, he taps the bell again and he expects and 
gets an instantaneous return to the quiet and order which 
existed before the recess. 

Of course, when the assembly is below the standard, 
the Mayor withholds this privilege; for this recess is 
looked upon by him rather in the light of a reward than 
of a necessary adjunct to an order of exercise. There 
is one occasion, however, when he makes an exception to 
this general rule, and this is when there is a visitor pres- 
ent ; for the Mayor is rather proud of the alacrity with 
which his fellow pupils respond to his signals to relax 
and to return to order ; and he does not want to miss an 
opportunity for impressing upon the visitor, that, to use 
his own language, "Public School 125 is one of the best 
disciplined schools in the city," and, it may be added, 
has one of the best Mayors to be found anywhere. 

It must be remarked here, that in Public School 125, 
the morning assembly is looked upon, among other things, 
as a dress parade. Accordingly during its continuance, 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 57 

which includes all the preparation for it, implicit and jhe 
instantaneous obedience and perfect order are insisted Discipline 
upon and obtained. The marching, the facing, the seat- i>uring the 
ing, the standing, and the sitting, must be done with ^^^^ ^ 
military precision, and in response only to signals given 
on the piano, for no words of command are allowed. 
Theoretically this rigid discipline lays itself open to 
criticism; but as this is the only occasion during the 
day when this discipline is demanded (the principal in- 
sisting upon a natural and easy posture during the rest 
of the day, excepting upon special occasions) ; as, more- 
over, the children themselves have expressed a prefer- 
ence for this kind of discipline during the morning exer- 
cises, assuring the authorities that they feel no incon- 
venience after a little training, the practice seems 
entirely justifiable. Besides, this claim of the children 
to which visitors give constant testimony, is borne out 
by their contented looks during the assembly. "The 
most striking thing about this school" reports one, "is 
the prevailing attitude of geniality and contented in- 
dustry that seemed to fill the dingy old building from 
top to bottom."* This is only a sample report of the 
many that have been made by newspaper reporters and 
others who have taken the trouble to be present at the 
opening exercises. 

All are now ready to return to their class-rooms to The Return 
continue the work of the day. At a given signal on the to the 
piano, the children rise, face, mark time, and march to Class-rooms 

* Charles DeF. Hoxie, Eeport on a Visit to Public School 
125. 



58 



PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 



their rooms without direction from anyone, guided only 
by their own common sense and by their desire to carry 
out instructions in the simplest and most orderly man- 
ner possible. During the whole of the morning exer- 
cises, it will be recalled, not one word of command, direc- 
tion, or reproof, was given. 

As a general rule, the morning exercises last about 
fifteen minutes. There are occasions, however, when 
this time limit is extended to twenty and even to twenty- 
five minutes, without the feeling arising that there has 
been, as some would claim, the least bit of time misspent. 

Not so very long ago, a great hue and cry was made 
against prolonged exercises. Perhaps this was right, in 
view of the fact that there is a specific time for grammar, 
just as there is for morning assembly, in every well 
regulated daily program; and some principals perhaps 
utilize both periods in reiterating again and again the 
necessity of improving every moment. However, it is 
certainly unwise to reduce the whole proceeding to a 
time-saving formality, in order to utilize the few minutes- 
thus saved in learning the parsing of a preposition, for 
instance, or in encountering as fine an example of false 
syntax as ever plagued an unsophisticated child to whom 
freedom of speech is popularly supposed to be a heritage. 

The morning exercises have an educational value not 
generally conceded to them. If conducted properly, 
they pave the way for orderly conduct and systematic 
Day's Work^Qj.]j jp^^. ^j^g ^.^^^ ^j ^-^^ ^^^ ^ good beginning is just 

as essential to the work of the school, as it is to every 
other department of activity. The orderly entrance. 



THE SCHEME IN OPERATION 59 

marching, and seating of the pupils, the instantaneous 
responses they make to commands, the maintenance by 
them of a quiet and attentive demeanor, and the prompt- 
ness with which the exercises are gone through — all tend 
to put the children in the proper attitude toward their 
day's tasks. Order begets order. 

It is said to the lasting credit of the kindergarten, that Has a 
one of its chief aims is to extend the child's social rela- Socializing 
tions, and thereby to broaden and strengthen the social- IiiAuence 
izing influences of the home. This is equally true, how- 
ever, of the other classes, and of the school as a whole ; 
and school assemblies are appreciable factors in the 
development of this community feeling. The success of 
the marching, of the sitting, of the rising, and of the 
facing, is felt by each and every child to depend upon 
the simultaneous execution of orders by each and every 
child who takes part in the assembly. The Bible reading 
and recitations are for the benefit of all who are present ; 
the singing is participated in by all and spoiled by a 
very few. The whole atmosphere is changed with the 
spirit of mutual dependence and mutual helpfulness. 

Both theory and practice are agreed that class-training Develops a 
owes its superiority over individual or tutorial training Democratic 
largely to the fact that the former tends to make the ^P^"* 
child democratic in manner and in feelings. There is 
no greater aristocrat, not to say autocrat, than a child 
reared in a coddling environment, where the only check 
to the growth of his self-importance is the occasional 
reprimand of an indulgent father or mother. With the 
great majority of people, it is as natural to spoil a child 



60 PXJPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

by an overdose of kindness, as it is for the child to be- 
come spoiled by an over-indulgence in it. A feeling of 
fellowship can be engendered only by meting out equal 
justice to all and by inculcating the Golden Eule. 

The public school is just the place for this training. 
Here the rich and poor, the foreigner and native born, 
meet upon a footing of equality, for education is free 
to all. Here social superiority is frowned upon, and 
only intellectual worth and moral superiority are recog- 
nized. The class-room, it is true, exerts a great influence 
in developing this spirit of equality. The child who 
recites his grammar lesson in the class-room, does so as a 
member of a social group which has the right not only 
of listening to him but of criticizing his statements — the 
principle of "give and take" is practiced here in the 
true spirit of comradeship. The child who transgresses 
the rules of the class, receives, and is expected to receive, 
the same punishment, other things being equal, that 
would have been meted out to any other member of the 
class for the same offense. And yet, even here, condi- 
tions are liable to arise, which will increase rather than 
diminish a child's estimate of his own importance, hj 
reason of his inherent right to leadership, or through 
the hero-worshipping instincts of his classmates, or the 
special good-will of his teacher. Not so, however, with 
the morning assembly, where the child is merged in the 
group, where he counts for neither more nor less than 
any other individual who takes part in the exercises, and 
where he goes through the same evolutions, recites or 
listens and is shown neither more nor less favor than the 
other children. 



THE SCHEME IN OPERATION 61 

Aside from the training the child receives and the con- Has an 
sequent effect upon him, from the rhythmic movements, Aesthetic 
and the exercise of his will, there are two other factors influence 
of the morning assembly which have a bearing upon his 
moral development— the songs and the recitations. 

The class-room music consists of a study of techni- 
calities and makes little or no appeal to the sentiments 
of the child. With the assembly music, it is different, 
particularly when the songs are well rendered; for this 
aids in fostering and developing his aesthetic sense. 

The recitations also contribute their share to the moral 
uplifting of the pupils; but in order that they may do 
their most effective work, the selections must not only 
be recited properly, but they must be simple, appro- 
priate and interesting. Shakespeare was a great poet; 
so was Browning; so were many others. The child has 
no doubt of this, for his teacher has told him so ; but he 
prefers the words of a lesser poet — words which come 
nearer to his understanding, interest, and appreciation, 
and appeal more to his audience. A child resents being 
forced to recite in a foreign language, or to listen to it ; 
and nine-tenths of the selections which common consent 
has approved as gems of literature, and therefore to be 
mouthed by the children, are beyond them, either to 
understand or to appreciate. 

As an extreme example of the futility of this class of 
recitations to impress itself upon the child, the following 
statement of a man, who in his childhood and in his boy- 
hood had recited numerous selections and had listened 
to a great many more, will be of interest. These are his 



62 PUPIL SELP-GOVEENMENT 

words: "Of all the declamations, recitations and quota- 
tions which. I had either declaimed, recited, or quoted, or 
heard declaimed, recited, or quoted, I valued just this one, 
'Boys cannot do all that a grown-up person can do, but 
they can keep from swearing just like any grown-up 
person can.' The words sank into my childish heart, 
for I not only understood them but I appreciated their 
moral import — they dealt with an old acquaintance of 
mine, but which I soon recognized as an unfit companion 
for me." 
Aids in The personality of the principal is the chief means 

Developing for developing a school spirit. A principal who has the 

* .^. ability to inculcate a habit of cheerful obedience; who 

Spirit . . 

feels a just pride m his school and evinces it upon 

proper occasions and by proper means, and who, by 
gaining the respect and confidence of those about him, 
instills into them a desire to emulate him in spirit and 
act, will not fail to awaken and to maintain a spirit of 
loyalty to his school among both teachers and pupils. 
And nowhere does the principal find as favorable an 
opportunity to impress his personality upon the whole 
school or upon a considerable portion of it at one and 
the same time, as at the morning assembly. Here he 
may upon occasion direct his remarks to the subject of 
school virtues, not as mere abstractions, but as essential 
elements to the success of his own school— a success which 
can be brought about only by the combined efforts of all 
the children. Or he may make reference to some con- 
crete activities in which the whole school— each and every 
child— is concerned and takes pride, to mother's meet- 



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q_l « 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 63 

ings, to school games, to the school flag, or, best of all, 
to the school's self-government. There is no greater 
force than this to awaken the school spirit which slum- 
bers in the breast of every right-minded and well-dis- 
posed child. 

A Court Scene 

The school has already been dismissed, and the 
assembly room cleared; for the court is to hold its ses- 
sion, and teachers and pupils know that Justice waits 
for no one. Children enter by twos and threes and seat 
themselves, some with ominous looking documents * in 
* Subpoena. 
In the Name of The People of Self -Government School 135. 

To Greeting : 

We Command You, That all business and excuses being laid 
aside, you and each of you appear and attend before the Justices 
of the City Court, or some one of them at a City Court, to be 
held in the Assembly Eoom of Public School 125, Manhattan, on 

the day of at o 'clock in 

the noon, to testify and give evidence in a certain 

cause now j)ending in the City Court, then and there, between 
Self -Government School 125, plaintiff, and 

For your failure to attend you will be deemed guilty of contempt 
of court and liable to punishment. 

Witness Esquire, 

one of the Justices of our City Court the day 

of \... 

Clerk. 

Warrant. 

County 1 To the Sheriff or any Police Officer of 

Town of ) " ^^^^ City, 

Greeting, 
Whereas, Inf o/'mation of 



of Court 



64 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

their hands, others with smiles on their faces, which be- 
speak the fortunate visitor; for the audience is limited 
to two children from each of the upper grades. Several 
teachers, and perhaps a visitor or two, complete the 
company which faces the three judges, who are at that 
moment engaged in earnest consultation with one of the 
teachers who sits back of them on the raised platform 
and who is to act as their adviser during the day's 
session. 
The Promptly at ten minutes past three, the presiding 

Opening Judge announces to the crier the court's readiness to 
proceed with the business of the day. Immediately the 
well-known formula of ' ' Hear ye ! Hear ye ! " rings out 
clear and strong, to the consternation of the first offender 
who sees neither rhyme nor reason in the invitation "to 
draw near and be heard" when as a matter of fact he 
prefers to be silent and far away. 

The clerk reads the first indictment and the culprit 
rises and proceeds to the foot of the platform where he 
faces the Judges. If he pleads guilty, and it is his 

haa been made before the undersigned, a 

justice of that 

on the day of at 



These are, therefore. In the name of the People of Self- 
Government School 125 to command you forthwith to take the 
said and to bring 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 65 

first offense, the Judges are rather lenient with him — 
detention for a short while in the late-room is the sen- 
tence. If he is an old offender, sterner penalties are 

to answer to the matters contained in said complaint and to be 
further dealt with according to law. 

Dated at said city, the day of 



Justice of said City Court. 



^^ ARRANT 

IN JUSTICE'S COURT 

BEFORE P.J. 

THE PEOPLE 

AGAINST 



WARRANT 



Reverse side of Warrant 



66 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

meted out to him. And this not so much for the pur- 
pose of reforming the guilty, nor to act as a deterrent to 
others who are yet too timid to be caught in the meshes 
of the law, nor even to impart a holy reverence for the 
abstract oughtness and oughtnotness, but in the words 
of the presiding Judge to "teach you that this court is 
not soft, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself to 
disgrace the school. Don't do it again." 

If the child pleads "not guilty" to the indictment the 
prosecution calls upon the officer who made the charge 
to produce two witnesses, unless the offense was com- 
mitted in the assembly room, when the word of the 
ojBicer alone is taken in evidence. If the witnesses are 
not forthcoming, the charge is not entertained; if they 
appear, then the prisoner is asked to produce his own 
witnesses, to choose counsel to defend him, or the court 
appoints one.* In such cases it is not uncommon to 
hear heated discussions and cross-examinations partici- 
pated in by the Judges, the City Attorney and the at- 
torney for the defense f— just as they do in the regular 
courts, but with this difference: The School Court 
gets at the truth in each case eventually, although its 
mode of procedure is not always parliamentary. An 
instance is recalled which exemplifies this statement. A 

*A child has the right to call upon his own teacher to de- 
fend him. The teacher may refuse to appear in the child's 
behalf if the latter 's conduct warrants such refusal. 

t In Public School 110, Manhattan (Miss Adeline E. Simpson, 
Principal), where self-government has been carried on successfully 
for some time, both a prosecuting and a defending attorney are 
elected — an excellent idea, and worthy of being adopted by others. 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 67 

boy charged with a certain misdemeanor vehemently 
protested his innocence. There was not sufficient evi- 
dence upon which to convict him although the court was 
morally certain of his guilt. He was cross-examined 
again and again but to no avail. At last the presiding 
Judge lost her patience and measuring his length with 
her indignant gaze, remarked sternly: "You ought to 
be ashamed of yourself to lie to me ! Don 't you dare do 
it again ! Now, sir ! Are you guilty?" He pleaded guilty, 
and he didn't lie like a gentleman either in doing so. 

The influence of the court upon the children is truly The 
remarkable. No child, however hardened, enjoys the Influence 
experience of appearing, in the presence of about a hun- ° ® 
dred other children, before this tribunal presided over 
by three firm, sober-minded, earnest and level-headed 
young girls who by their bearing recall their ancestress, 
the Roman Matron. Many a boy hardened by the life 
of the streets, by wicked companionship and by vicious 
surroundings has felt himself grow limp at the prospect 
of having to undergo this ordeal ; and no boy with the 
least spark of manliness but is the better for the exist- 
ence of this court. 

"Stand up straight, sir!" It was the voice of the 
presiding Judge calling upon one of the oldest and tallest 
boys in the school to assume a more human posture in the 
presence of his Judges. He had been indicted for some 
trivial offense, had been summoned to court to answer 
to the charge, and unfortunately for him he had not 
learned the value of silence. It was just one week after 
the court had held its first session, and in common with 



68 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

a great many others, older and wiser than himself, he 
looked upon that institution as a sort of a bugaboo with 
which to frighten very young children, and to amuse 
older ones like himself. Accordingly, when he was 
served with the summons by one of the court attendants, 
he showed his contempt by remarking that he "didn't 
care— it was only a fake court after all." This was re- 
ported to the Judges. 

The day of the trial arrived. The clerk of the court 
read the first indictment. It was that of the aforemen- 
tioned culprit. He rose to his feet, a great, big, good- 
looking boy, who proceeded with careless step to the front 
of the room and stood in an attitude of "parade rest" 
before the Judges. 

' ' Stand up straight, sir ! " The boy looked startled 
and surprised for a moment, then straightened up in- 
stinctively. "You are charged with turning your head 
during the assembly," continued the Judge, "Are you 
guilty?" "I am," he answered, meekly enough. 

A consultation between the three Judges followed, the 
sentence was written on a slip of paper and approved by 
the teacher in charge. 

* * The sentence of the court is that you be detained one 
afternoon. Now go. ' ' 

He turned, while a smile, rather sickly, it is true, over- 
spread his countenance, as he proceeded to his seat. The 
boys' natural bravado was striving to reassert itself; but 
iTufortunately for both boy and bravado, the presiding 
Judge, who had not taken her eyes off him, caught the 
suspicion of a smile on his face, just as he was in the 
act of seating himself. 



THE SCHEME IN OPERATION 69 

"Come back here, sir !" and back he came. "Did you 
smile, sir ? " and receiving an affirmative reply, * * You are 
guilty of contempt of court; you will take two more 
days in the detention room. Now see if you can go to 
your seat without smiling." Needless to say, no smile 
cheered the culprit's second return to his seat. He had 
been given something to think of, and this something 
drove the frivolity from his head and replaced it by an 
experience which was so at variance with his established 
faith and ideas, that it needed all his attention to explain 
it. Soberly he sat down to ruminate when he heard his 
name called again. He looked around to make sure that 
he was himself, and meeting with no evidence to the con- 
trary, he proceeded "the way of the transgressor," and 
paused from sheer force of habit before the Judges. 

* ' You are charged, sir, with saying that this is a fake 
court. Are you guilty?" 

Guilty ? Yes, certainly, and ready to plead so to horse- 
stealing even, if only he would not be forced to run the 
gauntlet of those two hundred pairs of eyes which were 
watching his every movement with intense interest, and 
which seemed to exist only for the purpose of analyzing 
his innermost thoughts and feelings, 

* ' I will teach you that this is no fake court ! You will 
take, in addition, three more days in the detention room ; 
and if you are ever brought before this court again on a 

similar charge, it will, it will " and indignation 

choked all audible utterance ; while the culprit slunk to 
his seat a more bewildered, but a wiser boy. 

Three weeks later, this same boy made application to 



70 PUPIL SBLF-GOVEENMENT 

the Chief of Police for a position on the force, and was 
told to get the indorsement of the Mayor and of the 
Judges. He did so, and he is now an honored and a use- 
ful member of the police department. 

One more instance, just to show the earnestness and 
the zeal of the oiScers of the School. One of the first 
cases brought before the court in executive session, tested, 
in a high degree, the moral strength of the children. A 
girl, the president of her class, and a friend of most of 
the officers, including the three Judges, was charged 
with talking on line during dismissal. She denied the 
charge, but by skilful cross-examination she was forced 
to admit her guilt. She was reprimanded by the court 
and warned not to repeat the offense; but instead of 
heeding the warning, she threatened the officer for re- 
porting her. This official, a girl of course, went to her 
teacher for advice. "I didn't like to take her name," 
she said apologetically, "but it was my duty to do so, 
and I did it." She was advised to consult the Judges, 
and they had the offender indicted on the charge of in- 
timidating an officer. Upon trial, they found her guilty 
and recommended that she be dismissed from the presi- 
dency of the class. The sentence was approved and 
carried out. The girl has not had a charge made against 
her since, nor did she show at any time the least resent- 
ment against her companions, but on the contrary 
showed by her behavior that she regarded the sentence 
as just and wholesome. 

But there are other sources of evidence of the good 
influence which the court exerts upon the children. One 



THE SCHEME IN OPEEATION 71 

is the judgment of the teachers of Public School 125, who 
can be vouched for, for various reasons, to speak the un- 
varnished truth concerning it. Summarized, this opin- 
ion, to use the words of one of the teachers, the one most 
indefatigable in the cause of self-government, is that, 
''The children have come to look upon the courts as 
places where wrongs are righted. In place of the famil- 
iar 'I'll tell the teacher,' we hear, 'I'll bring you to 
court if you don 't stop ' ; and nine times out of ten this 
has the desired effect." Another proof, and perhaps 
the most valuable, is the gradual decrease in the number 
of complaints and trials before the court. Several times 
court sessions have been held with only two cases on the 
calendar. 

The Truancy Department 

Judging from immediate and concrete results, this de- 
partment is perhaps the most valuable of the scheme. 
For not only has it practically broken up truancy, as 
the subjoined report will show, but it has also had a 
good influence upon the rest of the school. 

The respectful obedience which the truant squad com- 
mands from the roaming, roving population of the 
school, may be inferred from the following : 

The captain of the squad, an earnest and fearless lad An 
of thirteen, finds little difficulty in persuading the tru- Instance 
ants whom he encounters to accompany him to school. 
On one occasion, and this is by no means a rare one, the 
captain, in making his round of the neighborhood, met 
six truants in succession ; and he directed each of them 
to wait for him at a certain corner until he called for 



72 



PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 



Report of the Ungraded Class 

1906 



Feb. 


March 


April 


May 


1 


S-l 
(D 

'Si 


% 
< 


-2 


CO 

•a 

IB 


<D 

< 


CS 


•s. 


03 
1 

< 




u 

m 

K 


<D 

1 

< 


1 


32 


17 


1 


27 


22 


2 


29 


26 


1 


26 


20 


2 


32 


17 


2 


27 


26 


3 


29 


27 


2 


26 


21 


5 


30* 


17 


5 


24 


24 


4 


27 


26 


3 


26 


22 


6 


30 


16 


6 


26 


22 


5 


27 


26 


4 


27 


24 


7 


33 


21 


7 


26 


21 


6 


28 


26 


7 


26 


24 


8 


35 


26 


8 


26 


24 


16 


31 


29 


8 


26 


24 


9 


35 


26 


9 


25 


23 


17 


30 


27 


9 


24 


24 


13 


35 


23 


12 


28 


25 


18 


30 


28 


10 


23 


22 


14 


35 


18 


13 


28 


26 


19 


30 


28 


11 


23 


20 


15 


34* 


27 


14 


30 


27 


20 


29 


28 








16 


32* 


25 


15 


30 


27 


23 


29 


27 








19 


32 


22 


16 


32 


25 


24 


29 


28 








20 


33 


22 


19 


33 


26 


25 


29 


29 








21 


33 


18 


20 


33 


30 


26 


27 


27 








23 


32 


17 


21 


33 


31 


27 


27 


23 








26 


32 


19 


22 


33 


31 


30 


27 


22 








27 


32 


21 


23 


33 


32 














28 


32 


22 


26 

27 
28 
29 


33 

34 
30 
30 


30 

28 
29 

28 




















30 


30 


28 















or more boys to regular classes, or (rarely), a discharge from 
the school. 




.s ^ 



03 " 



Instance 



THE SCHEME IN OPERATION 73 

him. He later met the six at the appointed spot, and 
piloted them safely to school. 

A boy who had been a notorious truant for years, was Another 
lost sight of by the truant officers for several months; 
and when the squad was formed, his name was among 
the first that was given to the captain to look up. This 
officer professed to know the boy's whole history— knew 
that he was assisting a driver in delivering packages for 
the munificent sum of ten cents a day with privileges of 
sleeping occasionally in a certain laundry and of hiding 
there when wanted by the truant officers. He knew 
also that he was in the habit of reaching his home after 
the family had retired for the night, and of leaving it 
before anyone was astir. 

A week later the truant was at the office of the prin- 
cipal, and beside him stood the captain, who had that 
morning surrounded his house with three of his squad, 
and caused his ignominious surrender without a blow 
being struck on either side. 

Under ordinary circumstances, the truant would have 
been lectured, ordered to the detention room for a cer- 
tain number of days, and then set free. Unfortunately 
for him, however, his commitment paper had been 
signed several months before ; and as the captain refused 
to intercede for him, it was determined to send him to 
the truant school. 

The principal explained this determination to the of- 
fender, then turning suddenly to him, asked him if he 
would go alone to the truant school, and there deliver 
himself up to the authorities. He expressed his willing- 



74 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

ness with alacrity, but the captain interposed an objec- 
tion. "Please don't do that," he said earnestly to the 
principal, "he'll never report himself; and then we'll 
have all our trouble for nothing;" and seeing that his 
words did not have the desired effect, he continued : " I 
know him, you can't trust him — he plays hookey, he 
smokes and drinks, he swears and he steals — I tell you I 
know what I am talking about, for he is my cousin ! ' ' 
His logic was faultless, and the principal — well, he did 
just what many a better and holier man has done before 
him — he acted according to his judgment and ignored 
his reasoning. He adhered to his original resolution, 
and sent the culprit on his way to self-imposed confine- 
ment or to short-lived freedom, and the crestfallen and 
disgusted captain to his class-room. 

The captain was right, and as a reward for his far- 
sightedness he was ordered to apprehend the truant 
again and to produce him in the office of the principal. 
Days passed, the squad scoured the neighborhood, but 
found no trace of him. So the captain reported daily 
with a grim satisfaction which he could not altogether 
hide. At last, one morning, as the principal approached 
the school, the captain saluted, then pointed to a boy 
much taller than himself, who was standing beside him. 
It was the truant, the captain 's cousin, the boy who had 
caused the child to lose his faith in his principal as a 
level-headed manager of truant boys. ' ' Truant school ? ' ' 
queried the captain, without a suspicion of a smile on 
his face. The principal eyed him sadly for fully a 
minute, handed him carfare, then turned on his heel and 
entered the schoolhouse. 



•9l 



THE SCHEMI] IN OPERATION 75 

A week after the event narrated above, another of the 0»e More 



chronic truants, one of the worst the school housed or 
failed to house— a boy who had a bad influence upon his 
companions because of his defiant talk to them when he 
met them in the street— was picked up by the captain 
and brought to school. He was crying, but he was also 
listening attentively to the captain who was gesticulat- 
ing and talking very earnestly to him. At length both 
entered the office of the principal, and the captain an- 
nounced that his companion was ready to go to the 
truant school alone, and only asked that he be allowed 
to go home and notify his mother. "I am responsible 
for him, ' ' announced the captain, which was tantamount 
to a bond of good faith signed and endorsed, ''he's all 
right, sir !" 

The boy was given a letter of introduction to the 
matron of the truant school ; and the following day word 
was received that he had called there with his mother, 
presented his credentials, and after kissing his mother 
good-bye, settled down to a term of expiation and 
training.* 

Murder will out, so will anything which lies near the 
hea of a child. "When the truant had left, the captain 
tur I to the principal. "I was angry," he said "when 
yoc t my cousin go, because I was sure he would fool 
you Now I understand. He was a fool. He might 
havt known I 'd get him ; and if he had been honest and 
had done what he had promised to do, you would have 
helped him get out of the truant school in a few months. 

*The boy has since been released for good conduct upon 
the recommendation of the principal of his school. 



Instance 



76 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

Now he'll stay there two years. Every boy and girl in 
the school knows that. I told this to Giaeoma (the boy 
who had just left), and he asked me to let him go up 
alone, and I promised I would, and I promised I would 
speak to you about it. ' ' 

The principal looked at the captain approvingly. He 
had recognized the spirit of firmness and kindness which 
had been his own guide in the management of children ; 
and with a word of commendation, he bade his lieuten- 
ant go to his class-room. At that moment, at least, th« 
principal felt that his life had not been wasted. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ETHICS 

Aims: 

1. To give knowledge of what is right. 

2. To awaken the feelings and develop them. 

3. To train to right action. 

Means of Development. 

I. Imitation ; concrete examples. 

1. Personality of principal and teacher. 

(a) Voice; speech; bearing; dress. 

(b) Poise; self-control, courtesy, kindness. 

(c) Justice ; fine sense of honor ; firmness. 

(d) Sincerity; ideals; attitude toward life. 

2. Personality of parents and playmates. 

II. Creation of worthy interests, high ideals, and 
helpful activities. 

1. Reverence, sense of gratitude and dependence 
upon a Higher Power, 

2. Admiration of true greatness. 

3. Self-respect. 

(a) Recognition of work well done. 

(b) Cultivation of principle of esprit de corps. 

4. Unselfishness, helpfulness, social co-operation. 

(a) Communal work. 

(b) Helping at home. 

77 



78 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMBNT 

(e) Working with public officers and public 
departments for the common welfare. 
5. True obedience : 

(a) Self-direction. 

(b) Personal honor and responsibility. 

(c) Self-government. 

III. Precept and Application. 

1. Ethical stories from history and literature. 

2. Agencies for social service. 

(a) Hospitals and dispensaries. 

(b) Asylums. 

(c) Homes for orphans, blind, aged, and in- 
firm, etc. 

(d) Societies for prevention of cruelty to 
children and animals. 

(e) Societies for relief of the unfortunate 
and needy. 

(f ) Fresh Air Funds. 

IV. Discussions of stories illustrating ethical truths. 
1. Deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice. 

(a) Firemen. 

(b) Policemen. 

(c) Soldiers. 

(d) Doctors, etc. 

(e) Individuals in positions of trust or re- 
sponsibility. 

(f) Dumb animals. 

Methods. 
I Gradual Development. 



ETHICS 79 

1. From action to principle. 

2. From obedience imposed from without to self- 
government initiated from within. 

3. From formal submission to outward author- 
ity, to voluntary obedience to an innate sense 
of honor and obligation. 

II. Recognition of inexorable laws which cannot be 
violated with impunity. 

1. Physical laws. 

2. Moral laws. 

TOPICS 

I. Home Life. 

1. Duties to Parents. 

(a) Obedience in all things. 

(b) Respect in address, in attention, in out- 
side speech. 

^(c) Courtesy: tipping hats; interruptions in 
speech; offering seats; passing the time 
of day ; opening doors. 

(d) Honesty. 

(e) Self-control; unkind speech; temper. 

(f) Gratitude for every small kindness. 

(g) Affection in action as well as word. 
(h) Cheerfulness. 

2. Duties to Sisters and Brothers. 

|(a) Kindness in speech and manner, 
(b) Helpfulness 

to the younger ones in dressing; 

to the younger ones in playing; 



80 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

to the elder ones by cleanliness; 
to the elder ones by errands. 

(c) Unselfishness: in dress; in food, in 
pleasure; in belongings. 

(d) Cheerfulness. 

3. Treatment of the Sick or Infirm. 

(a) Helpfulness. 

(b) Kindness. 

(e) Courtesy. 

(d) Respect. 

(e) Sympathy. 

(f) Patience. 

4. Treatment of any Pet, i. e., Dog, Cat, Bird, etc. 

(a) As to teasing. 

(b) As to gentle handling. 

(c) As to food. 

(d) As to shelter. 

(e) Kindness to all dumb animals. 

5. Conduct at Home. 

(a) Orderliness; everything in its proper 
place. 

(b) Prompt obedience; early to bed, early to 
rise; not play until last moment. 

(e) Cleanliness; body; clothes. 

(d) Purity of speech, action, thought. 

(e) Gentleness; never boisterous or noisy in 
words or actions. 

(f) Neatness; care of clothes, etc., brushed 
before putting away, etc. 



ETHICS 81 

6. Conduct at Table. 

(a) Asking for food; patience until served; 
politeness in receiving food; serving 
others first. 

(b) Use of knife, fork, spoon, and napkin; 
not as playthings; proper use of each 
article. 

(c) Position at table; no lounging; no elbows 
on table ; erect, alert ; careful not to spill 
or drop food; excused when leaving be- 
fore others are through; do not speak 
unless addressed, 

(d) Mastication ; always chew thoroughly with 
mouth shut; no noise. 

(e) Cleanliness; teeth, face, hands, nails; 
hair; clothes; shoes. 

II. Outdoor Life. 

1. Conduct in Streets. 

(a) Right of way to passengers; keep to right 
side of street. 

(b) Right of way to vehicles, cars, etc. ; pedes- 
trians can stop easily; vehicles with 
difficulty ; never run in front of cars, etc., 
danger to self and nervous strain to 
driver or motorman. 

(c) Orderliness; loitering in streets; gangs; 
loitering wastes time, obstructs traffic; 
gang spirit is brutal, leads to fighting and 
rule of might; influence on individuals 
is degrading as the undesirable elements 



82 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

of character are most admired; stealing 
from push carts, etc. 

(d) Courtesy and kindness to playmates and 
friends; consideration for the weakness 
of another shows strength. 

(e) Politeness; excuse for unintentional in- 
jury or interruption while playing. 

(f) Gentleness in word, tone, action; shout- 
ing after others; screaming; uttering 
shrill cries; loud whistling; jostling, 
crowding or pushing; throwing stones; 
ball-playing; loud laughter. 

^(g) Consideration and sympathy for the feel- 
ings of others ; mimicry or ridicule of the 
deformities or misfortunes of others ; rude 
gazing or staring after others ; safety and 
protection of weak and helpless, 
(h) Cleanliness and neatness; refuse, waste- 
paper, fruit skins, etc., in proper recep- 
tacles; upsetting or disturbing contents 
of receptacles for refuse, etc. ; aids to the 
Street Cleaning Department; spitting on 
sidewalks, etc. 
2. Conduct in Parks, Libraries and other Public 
Buildings. 

(a) Care of parks, flowers, trees, etc., love of 
birds, flowers, etc. 

(b) Defacement of buildings. 

(c) All public property should be more sacred 
than personar property ; a public trust. 



ETHICS 83 

3. Conduct in Public Conveyances. 

(a) As polite as in the home or school. 

^(b) Moderate talking and laughing ; no noises. 

(c) Seats to elders. 

(d) Cleanliness. 

(e) Honesty in payment of fares. 

(f) Cars stop for getting on and off; jumping 
off is wrong, as conductor and motor- 
man are held responsible for accidents j 
dangerous. 

(g) No crowding or pushing. 

4. Conduct in Public Assemblies (Golden Kule). 

(a) Indoors. 

1. Quietness and attention. 

2. Eespect to elders. 

3. Politeness to weaker sex. 

4. Conduct in panics ; coolness and self- 
possession. 

(b) Outdoors. 

1. Politeness to speaker. 

2. Courtesy to listeners. 

3. No audible comments. 
III. School Life. 

1. Duties to Teacher. 

(a) Obedience in all things. 

(b) Respect; in address; in attention; in 
speech. 

(c) Courtesy; interruptions in speech; tip- 
ing hats ; opening doors ; handing dropped 
articles. 



84 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

(d) Honesty; in speech, manner, actions, 
lessons. 

(e) Industry. 

2. Duties to Comrades (Golden Rule). 

(a) In class-room; quietness, attention, self- 
control. 

(b) In the playground; kindness in speech, 
in manner; honesty in play; unselfish- 
ness, thoughtfulness. 

(c) Cleanliness; in person; in dress; in 
speech; in books; in papers. 

(d) Politeness to girls; must be given and 
demanded. 

3. Duties to Self. 

(a) Industry. 

(b) Punctuality. 

(c) Honesty. 

(d) Trustworthiness. 

(e) Cleanliness and purity. 

(f) Self-respect. 

(g) Self-control, 
(h) Accuracy. 

4. Duties to the School at Large. 

(a) Fire drills; reasons; order during drills; 
reasons ; fire department ; its work, value, 
bravery of men. 

(b) Passage from class to class. 

(c) Cleanliness of building; janitor. 

(d) Defacement of building; care of books 
and other property belonging to the 
school. 



ETHICS 85 

(e) Loyalty. 

(f) Self-government. 
5. Value of School. 

(a) Why the child comes to school. 

(b) What the school does for the child. 

(c) Value of education. 

IV. Individual Welfare, 
1. Essential Qualities. 

(a) Industry, in lessons, in work. 

(b) Love of the true, the good, the beautiful. 
. (c) Thoroughness; whatever you do, do well. 

1. Advantages of skill, expert knowledge 
or perfection in some special trade, 
profession or subject. 

2. Disadvantages of entire specialization. 

3. Jack of all trades and master of none ; 
ability and value of an individual. 

^(d) Ambition in lessons, in work, toward a 
a higher life. 

(e) Prudence in speech, manner, and actions. 

(f) Truthfulness in speech, manner, and 
actions. 

(g) Honesty in work, word or action, in all 
dealings with others. 

(h) Economy. 

(i) Punctuality. 

(j) Good companions; good books; good 

habits, 
(k) Temperance and moderation. 

1. In speech, manner, and actions. 



86 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

2. In food, clothes and drink. 

3. Use of alcohol and tobacco. 

2. Individual Eights and Privileges. 

(a) Rapid advancement and progress; test — 
ability, not wealth or social position. 

(b) Opportunities; public education; schools; 
colleges, libraries, museums, etc.,— use of 
same. 

(c) Freedom of speech and action; protection 
of rights of others ; liberty of individual 
gained by common welfare. 

(d) Self-sacrifice; common welfare advanced 
at expense of the individual welfare. 

3. Effect of Individual Welfare and Progress. 

(a) Upon the individual. 

(b) Upon the family circle. 

(c) Upon society and the common welfare. 

4. Dependence of Man. 

(a) Upon a Supreme Being— reverence- 
gratitude. 

(b) Upon other individuals. 

1. The rich upon the poor. 

2. The poor upon the rich. 

3. The laborer upon the employer and 
vice versa. 

4. The layman upon the professional, etc. 

5. The child upon the parent and vice 
versa. 

(c) Upon animals. 

1. Domestic animals; horse, cow, sheep, 
ox, etc. 



ETHICS 87 

2. Wild animals; bear, tiger, elephant, 
whale, etc. 

3, Kindness to animals — Humane So- 
cieties. 

(d) Upon Nature and physical laws. 

1. Change of seasons, etc. 

2. Growth and functions of organs of the 
body, etc. 

3. Violation of law; certainty of punish- 
ment. 

(e) Upon government and moral laws. 

1. Character of government. 

2. Necessity of government. 

3. Powers and obligations of government. 

4. Limitations; individual rights; com- 
mon rights. 

5. Violation of law; certainty of punish- 
ment ; effect upon the character of the 
individual; effect upon the future in- 
dividual ; effect upon common welfare. 

Obedience to Law. 

(a) Why laws are made. 

(b) Who makes the laws, 
(e) Who enforces the laws. 

(d) Why law-breakers are punished. 



CHAPTER IX 
CIVICS* 

Aim: Training in and for citizenship. 

The teaching process, in order to be successful, must 
take into consideration the child to be educated, the 
material for his education, and the teacher, who is the 
medium between the two, their relative importance 
depending upon the aim of the lesson. Civics, which 
seeks primarily to impress its principles upon the moral 
sense of the child, must necessarily give prominence to 
the character of the teacher. 

Fundamentals 
1. The child. 

(a) The underlying civic virtue is obedience to con- 
stituted authority; hence, train the child first 
to a habit of implicit obedience. 

(b) Obedience should aim to a rational and volun- 
tary compliance to an inner authority; hence, 

rationalize the child's knowledge of law and 
order, broaden and deepen his sense of duty, 
and give impulse to his conduct. 

(c) In intellectual education, interest is a condi- 

*From Cronson's ''Methods in Elementary School Studies," 
published by The Maemillan Co. 



CIVICS 89 

tion to knowledge; in moral education, knowl- 
edge is a condition to interest. 

(d) The child is in possession of all the elementary 
concepts which underlie this study through 
intercourse with those with whom he comes in 
contact long before he begins the study of civics. 

(e) The principles underlying the teaching of other 
studies obtain here also : Faith in the concrete, 
reasoning, conviction, action, are the steps in 
the development of a civic character. 

2. Material. 

(a) The purposes of government. 

The material must be concrete and familiar— the 
home, as represented by the head of the family; the 
school, by the teacher; the city, by the policeman and 
the fireman. 

(b) A knowledge of our form of government. 

The material should include the leading facts and the 
underlying principles of municipal, state, and federal 
governments. 

(c) The duties of citizens. 

A comparison with other forms of government in order 
to emphasize such peculiar institutions as suffrage, 
primaries and convention. 

(d) Historical personages and events. 

3. The Teacher. 

Only the teacher who is zealous in the cause of good 
citizenship can arouse and maintain the child's interest 
in this study, can make him appreciate the blessings of 
our free government, can induce him to feel that he owes 



90 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

certain duties to his citizenship which call for cheerful 
responses on his part. 
4. Method. * 

TOPICS 

I. Citizenship. 

1. Introductory questions. 

(a) Why do we have rules in school? 

(b) "VVhy do we have laws? 
(e) What are our rights? 

(d) What are our duties? 

(e) What is the most important function of the 
government ? 

2. Duties of the citizen to the government : 

(a) Personal responsibility in 

1. Preservation of order. 

2. Protection against fire. 

3. Protection of property — public and private. 

4. Protection of public health. 

5. Provision of necessities and conveniences, 
*. e., roads, streets, water, light, sewers, re- 
lief of poor and afflicted, education, parks, 
museums, libraries, etc. 

(b) Advantages and privileges. 

1. How does the individual citizen have a 
voice in the government ? 

(c) Eligibility. 

1. Who are citizens of the United States? 

*See Model Lesson on Primaries. (Page 116). "Methods 
in Elementary School Studies." 



CIVICS 91 

2. What is meant by an alien ? 
B. How may an alien become a citizen of the 
United States? 
3. Duties of the governmient to the citizen. 

(a) Preservation of the right to life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. 

(b) Preservation of order. 

(c) Protection against fire. 

(d) Protection of property— public and private. 

(e) Protection of public health. 

(f) Provision of necessities and conveniences i. e., 
roads, streets, water, light, sewers, relief of 
poor and afflicted, education, parks, museums, 
libraries, etc. 

(g) Redress of wrongs— public or private. 
II. Common Welfare. 

Through respect for rights of others. 

Obedience to law. 

Co-operation. 

Civic institutions. 

1. Introductory questions. 

(a) How does the government take care of public 
works ? 

(b) What do we mean by public works? 

(c) Why do we have a department of parks? 

(d) How can we show our appreciation of the 
city 's great expenditure on public parks ? 

(e) How are the parks protected? 

(f) In what ways are the trees cared for? 

(g) Name some of our city parks and playgrounds, 
(h) Where else can one spend his recreation time? 



92 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

(i) Locate two public museums. 
i(j) Locate the Zoological Garden. 
(k) Locate the Aquarium. 
(1) Locate three public libraries. 
(m) Locate your public school. 

(n) How can we aid in the protection of common 
property ? 
III. Departments of City Government. 

1. Department of Parks and Public Buildings. 

(a) Parks and playgrounds; use and value; the 
park custodian. 

(b) Duty of citizens ; duty of appreciating and pro- 
tecting park property, such as trees, shrubs, 
flowers, birds, animals, benches, railings and 
apparatus ; of keeping the grass and paths free 
from refuse or papers. 

Ce) Care of public buildings, schools, libraries, etc. ; 
defacement of same. 

2. Street Cleaning Department. 

(a) Duties of the Street Cleaning Department. 
Collection and disposal of refuse ; use of rub- 
bish boxes; street cleaning; street cleaning 
leagues. 

(b) Eights of the Street Cleaning Department; 
separate receptacles for refuse, waste paper, 
etc., enforcement of laws for violation of or- 
dinances. 

(e) Duty of citizens— to keep garbage and paper 
separate from ashes; to keep receptacles cov- 
ered; to refrain from throwing papers, fruit- 



CIVICS 93 

skins and other discarded matter into the 
street, or on the sidewalk; to refrain from 
throwing anything from windows, from ob- 
structing sidewalks or thoroughfares, from de- 
facing walks, fences, or buildings, 

3. Fire Department. 

(a) Promptness, speed, and efficiency of service; 
fire alarms; engine houses; duties of firemen; 
instances of heroism. 

(b) Bonfires— ruin of streets; dangers of fires; 
duties of Fire Department. 

(c) Duty of Citizens— care in the use of matches, 
kerosene, gas, benzine and other explosives or 
combustibles; care in regard to fireworks, bon- 
fires and rubbish; duty of keeping fire-escapes 
clear of encumbrances ; fire drills ; means of 
egress from buildings; behavior at panics. 

4. Police Department. 

(a) Duties of Police Department. Enforcement of 
law; maintenance of order; control of crowds; 
protection of life and property; detection and 
prevention of crime ; arrest of criminals, traffic 
regulation; instances of heroism. 

(b) Duty of Citizens. Respect for police author- 
ity ; appeal in case of danger ; rendering assist- 
ance in maintaining order; conduct in streets; 
ball-playing and stone-throwing— why forbid- 
den ; protection of city property. 

5. Health Department. 

(a) Duties of Health Department. Medical school 



94 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

inspector; seliool nurse; vaccination, contagi- 
ous diseases; necessity for quarantine; birth 
records and certificates ; inspection of milk, 
meat and other foods ; sanitary supervision of 
water supply ; disinfection of houses ; free medi- 
cal aid ; labor certificates ; public notices of 
Board of Health; burial grounds, remote from 
crowded sections; enforcement of provisions 
of Sanitary Code, 
(b) Duties of Citizens in regard to cleanliness of 
body, of clothing, of dwelling, of streets; im- 
mediate report of cases of contagion; respect 
for Health Board notices; anti-spitting laws; 
child labor laws. 
6. Department of Buildings and Tenement House De- 
partment. 

(a) Duties of Building Department. Formulating 
and enforcing rules for public safety; requir- 
ing safe and strong construction in the erection 
of houses, stores, factories, etc. 

(b) Duties of Tenement House Department. Na- 
ture of the statutes relative to the erection and 
inspection of tenements ; use and abuse of roofs, 
yards, and fire-escapes; sanitation, light, venti- 
lation, plumbing, toilet accommodations ; mutual 
obligations of landlord and tenant ; overcrowd- 
ing of tenants; illegal use of rooms for sweat- 
shops, factories, etc. 

(c) Duties of Citizens. Duty in complying with 
the laws made for the safety, the health, and 



CIVICS 95 

the comfort of the tenant, and in respecting 
the rights of the landlord. 

7. Department of Education. 

(a) Duties of the Department of Education. Pu- 
pil, teacher, principal, district superintendent; 
local school board; board of education; Pro- 
visions of the Compulsory Education Law and 
laws governing child labor; compulsory school 
age, penalty for neglect by parent, punishment 
of truant, hearings by district superintendent, 
compulsory attendance of boys at evening 
schools; attendance officer; employment certi- 
ficates; permits and badges for newsboys. 

(b) Duties of Citizens. Duties of supporting the 
administration of the schools, of obeying the 
laws governing compulsory education, child- 
labor, newsboys, and vaccination; of comply- 
ing with school regulations; of being careful 
in the use of books and other school property. 

(e) Value of education. 

(d) Necessity for laws governing child labor, com- 
pulsory education, etc. 

8. Judicial Department: 

(a) Functions of Courts; enforcement of laws; 
punishment of law-breakers ; interpretation and 
application of law. . 

(b) The court. The judge; the witness; the func- 
tions of a lawyer. The Children's Court and 
its purpose; penalties for offenses; parole, sus- 



I« PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

pended sentence, commitment to truant school 
or to other institutions, 
(c) Duties of Citizens. Duty of respecting courts 
and their orders, and of telling the truth; the 
nature of an oath. 

9. Department of Charities. 

(a) Duties of the Department of Charities. Hos- 
pitals and their purposes; care of orphans and 
of destitute children, of the aged and helpless, 
and of the blind. Humane Societies; various 
charity organizations ; societies for the preven- 
tion of cruelty to children and animal* 

(b) Duties of Citizens. Duty of relieving the un- 
fortunate ; of recognizing a personal responsi- 
bility to the poor and helpless ; of preventing 
cruelty to children and animals; of being in- 
dependent and self-supporting. 

10- Department of Correction. 

(a) Duties of the Department of Correction; care 
and maintenance of prisons, penitentiaries, 
reformatories, and other custodial institutions 
not under the charge of the Department of 
Charities. 

(b) Duty of Citizens. Duty of being interested in 
the reformation of the erring one ; willingness 
to start him aright once more and assist him to 
lead an honest industrious life; ready to give 
or secure employment for him, and to remove 
temptation out of his path ; readiness to lift up 



CIVICS 97 

the fallen — not to drag them down to lower 

depths of disgrace or crime. 
IV. Elections. 

We hold these truths to he self-evident, that all men 
are created equal; that they are endowed hy their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights; that among these are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among men, 
deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov- 
erned; that whenever any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to 
alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new governmenty 
laying its foundation on such principles, and orga^iizing 
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely 
to effect their safety and happiness. 

Declaration of Independence. 

1. Importance of primaries. 

2. Voting as a duty. 

3. Honest voting. 

4. Thoughtful voting. 

5. Parties and their platforms. 

(a) Local and state parties. 

(b) Local and state platforms; purpose; how car- 
ried out. 

The Weapon of the Citizen : 

A weapon that comes down as still 
As snowflaTces fall upon the sod; 
But executes a freeman's will, 

As lightning does the will of God; 
And from its force, nor doors nor locTcs 
Can shield you; — 't is the ballot-box. 

John Pieepont. 



98 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

Duties of Citizens — The duty of making the best use of 
opportunities for self -development and social service ; 
of keeping informed on matters of public interest; and 
of registering and of voting at primaries and on election 
days ; payment of taxes. 

2. Model Lesson on Primaries (Rights and Duties).* 

There is no privilege without a corresponding respon- 
sihility. The 'ballot suggests not merely that a man may 
exercise his franchise, hut that he must do so. This Mt 
of paper is a token of a freeman's sovereignty, and he 
has no more right to ignore or decline its responsibilities 
than Queen Victoria would have to cast down her scepter 
in a pettish humor and refuse to govern her realm. 

Eev. David J. Buerell, D.D. 

1. Facts: 

(a) Definition. 

(b) Date. 

(c) Location. 

(d) Participants. 

(e) Purpose. 

2. Relations: 

(a) To the character of the candidates. 

(b) To the character of the government. 

(c) To the moral tone of the community. 

(d) To the American idea of government. 

(e) To self-respect, and to respect of others. 

*From Cronson's "Methods in Elementary School Studies," 
published by The Maemillan Co. 



CIVICS 99 

3. Feelings: 

(a) Free government is a heritage handed down to 
us by centuries of oppression, suffering, and 
bloodshed ; hence this right involves a duty, for 
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." 

(b) Neglect to perform the duties of citizenship 
results in political rings formed for selfish 
purposes and dominated by the one-man power 
—a travesty on our boasted self-government. 

(c) Such conditions ought not to be tolerated by 
enlightened men, either as individuals, as 
members of society, or as Americans. 

4. Action: 

The teacher can only sow the seed ; he must leave the 
rest to the future. 
V. Government. 

Local; state ; national. 

The City Government. City Charter; how granted? 

1. City Officials. 

(a) Mayor: duties to party; to commonwealth; 
chief powers. 

(b) Comptroller: duties to party; to common- 
wealth; chief powers. 

(c) District Attorney : duties to party ; to common- 
wealth ; chief powers. 

(d) The Borough Presidents; chief powers and 
duties. 

(e) The Board of Aldermen; chief powers and 
duties. 



100 PUPIL SELF-GOVEKNMENT 

(f) The Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

(g) The Board of Education, 
(h) The Police Commissioner, 
(i) The Fire Commissioner, 
(j) The Park Commissioner, 

(k) The Street Cleaning Commissioner. 
(1) The Health Commissioner, 
(m) The Charities and Corrections. 

2. The State Government. 

(a) State Officials. Departments. Chief powers 
and duties of the Governor, the Lieutenant 
Governor, the legislature, and the militia; 
suffrage. 

'(b) Purpose of the courts, judge, jury; service 
on jury or as witness; rights of the accused; 
penal and charitable institutions. Naturaliz- 
ation of foreigners. 

(c) The State Senate. 

:(d) The Assembly. 

(e) The Courts; Supreme Court of State. Court 
of Appeals. 

(f) The Attorney General; powers and duties. 

3. Departments of the National Government, 

United States Officials— Departments. The three 
branches: legislative, executive, and judicial; how con- 
stituted; chief duties imposed upon each. Attention 
should be directed to the general purpose of the execu- 
tive branch as observed in or near this city: the letter- 
carrier and the post-office ; harbors, light-houses, and life- 



CIVICS 101 

saving stations ; the army and navy ; the customs depart- 
ment ; the immigration bureau ; the census. 

Duties of Citizens— Duty of keeping well informed in 
regard to the workings of the national government; of 
responding to calls for the defense of the country; of 
voting intelligently. 

Character of these men. 

Patriotism. 

Gratitude to Government. 
VI. Rise of Representative Government. 

1. Evolution of self-government; early Saxon village; 
the town meeting; the town officers; the Witan and 
the elective kingship. 

2. Feudal System: its institutions; social relationship; 
use of power; aspects for good and bad; traits of 
character produced. 

(a) Social relationship of baron to king; serf to 
baron ; villeinage. 

(b) Business relations of same. 

(c) Chivalry. 

3. Magna Charta. 

(a) Rights of people. 

(b) Representative government developed in the Sax- 
on Witan, the Norman Great Council, De Mont- 
fort's Parliament of 1265 and the Model Parlia- 
ment of 1295. 

(c) Judicial system: beginning in the Germanic Trial 
by Ordeal and by Compurgation. 

(d) Effects upon social life. 



102 PUPIL SELF-GOVERNMENT 

(e) Keligious ideas of the time. 

(f) Toleration. 

4. Rise of Parliament. 

(a) Doctrine of Divine Rights: meaning; how over- 
thrown; why. 

(b) Cabinet government. 
(e) Extension of suffrage. 

5. Organization of Labor — reasons for and against; 

unions; objects; misuses. 

6. Organization of Capital— trusts ; trade combinations; 

profit-sharing; co-operative stores, etc. 

7. Kinds of Governments. 

(a) Republics: federal; centralized. 

(b) Monarchies: constitutional; absolute. 
Comparisons : 



(a) Republics. 




United States. B. 


Switzerland. 


1, Congress. 


1. Federal Assembly. 


Senate. 


State Council. 


House of Representa- 


National Council 


tives. 


2. President. 


2. President. 


3. Federal Council 


3. Cabinet. 




C. France. 




1. The Chambers. 


Senate. 




Chamber of Deputies. 


2. President. 




3. Ministry. 





CIVICS 103 

(b) Monarchies. 

A. England. B. Germany. 

1. King— hereditary, 1. E m p e r o r— heredi- 

2. Cabinet. tary. 

3. Parliament. 2. Ministry, 
House of Lords. 3. Parliament, 

House of Commons Bundesrath or Gen- 

eral Council, 
Reichstag or Diet of 
the Realm. 
C. Russia 

1, Czar— hereditary and absolute. 

Whole legislative, judicial, 

and executive power united in 

Czar whose will is law. Aided 

by four great Councils. 

8. Growth of Freedom of Speech and Religion. 

(a) Compare England past and present. 

(b) Compare England and Russia. 

(c) Compare England and France. 

(d) Compare England and Germany. 

(e) Compare England and America. 

9. Wisdom of Representative Government. 

VII. Colonial Government to the Present Day. 

1. Forms of Colonial Government, 

(a) Three types of colonial government: charter, 
proprietary and royal. Governors elected by the 
people or appointed by the King or Proprietors ; 
the assemblies. 



104 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

(b) Aspects; advantages for the settlers; for the 
governors and companies; dishonesty; fraud; 
misuse of power. 

2. Eevolution. 

(a) Character of colonists; work for the general 
good; self-denial; patriotism; endurance; gener- 
osity. 

(b) Local government; town and county. 

(c) The Articles of Confederation; chief provisions; 
defects. 

3. The United States. 

(a) Patriots. 

(b) Constitution. 

Respect for the authority of the government, compli- 
ance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties 
enjoined hy the fundamental maxims of true liberty. 
The basis of our political systems is the right of the peo- 
ple to make and alter their constitutions of government. 
But the constitution which at any time exists, till changed 
by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is 
sacredly obligatory upon aZL— George Washington. 
The Constitution: How Formed and How Ratified 
THE PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form 
a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote 
the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America. 



CIVICS 105 

(c) Amendments to th6 Constitution. 
Amendments I-X together constitute a bill of 
rights. 

Amendments XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV. 

(d) Legislative departments: Congress, its House of 
Representatives and Senate ; their duties. How 
a bill becomes a law. 

(e) Executive: the President and Vice-President; 
election; duties. 

(f) Judicial: Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, District 
Courts. 

(g) Interdependence of the three departments of the 
national government : 

1. President's power in legislation. 

2. Senate's power over President's appointments. 

3. Power of impeachment. 

4. Power of the Supreme Court to determine the 
constitutionality of a law of Congress. 

(h) Subordination of the military to the civil power. 

(i) Slavery. 

Disputes between nations; how settled; arbitration; 
international law; treaties. 

Disputes between states or offices of government : how 
settled; political law. 

Disputes between individuals ; how settled ; municipal 
laAV; common or statute. 
Comparisons of forms of government. 

(a) Social questions. 

(b) Economic questions. 

(c) Political questions. 



106 PUPIL SELF-GOVEENMENT 

(d) Industrial questions. 

(e) Educational questions. 

[(f) Freedom of Speech and Eeligion. 
^g) Comparison of the powers and duties of the King, 
Cabinet and Parliament of Great Britain, with 
those of the President, Cabinet, and Congress of 
the United States. 

The King.— Hereditsir-y life ruler; succession; 
powers limited by the responsibilities of Cabinet 
ministers. 

The President. — Term; eligibility; election; 
succession in case of death or removal; powers 
and duties as executive and in regard to treaties, 
appointments, and legislation; power to convene 
Congress; how removed. 

Cabinet of England.— How selected; how 
changed ; relations to the King and to Parliament. 

Cabinet of the United States.— How selected; 
how changed; relations to the President and to 
Congress, 

Parliament.— House of Lords: hereditary mem- 
bership; legislative functions; final court of 
appeal. 

House o£ Commons : elective membership ; term 
of office ; legislative functions ; power to originate 
financial legislation. 

Congress.— Senaie: basis of representation; 
election; term; legislative and judicial functions. 

House of Eepresentatives : basis of representa- 



CIVICS 107 

tion; election; term; legislative powers; power 

over financial legislation. 

Russia and America. 

England and America. 

Germany and America, 
^(i) The National Government: three departments; 

the chief offices, 
(j) The State Government: the three departments; 

the chief offices, 
(k) The City Government: the three departments; 

the chief offices. 
(1) Increasing emphasis upon the privileges, duties 

and responsibilities of a citizen, as a member of 

a family, as pupil, as employer or employed, as 

voter, or as office-holder. 



Methods in Elementary School 
Studies 

By BERNARD CRONSON, A. B., Ph. D. 

Principal of Public School No. 3, Borough of Manhattan, City of 
New York. 12mo. Cloth. 167 pages. $1.25 net. 

This is a brief outline of the author's lectures on teaching the 
principal branches in the elementary course. The subjects treated 
are reading, dictation (including spelling, punctuation, para- 
graphing, etc.), composition, grammar, literature, nature study, 
geography, history, civics and arithmetic. The book is inter- 
leaved with blank pages, making it a convenient note book for the 
lecture room in normal schools and training schools, as well as 
for teachers in general. 

Classroom Management: Its 
Principles and Technique 

By WILLIAM CHANDLER BAGLEY 

Superintendent of the Training Department, State Normal School, 
Oswego, N. Y. 12mo. Cloth, xvii+352 pages. $1.25 net. 

This book considers the problems that are involved in the 
massing of children together for purposes of instruction and train- 
ing. It aims to discover how the unit group of the school system 
— the "class" — can be most effectively handled. The topics com- 
monly included in treatises upon school management receive ade- 
luate attention : the first day of school; the mechanizing of rout- 
in ; the daily program; discipline and punishment; absence and 
tardiness, etc. In addition to these, however, a number of sub- 
jects hitherto neglected in books of this class are presented : The 
"Batavia system" of class-individual instruction; different plans 
for testing the efficiency of teaching; a new treatment of school 
incentives based upon modern psychology; and a formulation of 
the generally accepted principles of professional ethics as applied 
to Schoolcraft. Appendices include plates showing quality of 
work that can be expected from pupils of different grades and 
syllabi of topics and questions for the use of "observation" classes. 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY ED- 
UCATION 

By CHARLES DeGARMO, Professor of the Science and Art of Ed- 
ucation in Cornell University. 12mo. Cloth, xii+299 pages. 
$1.25 net. 

The author discusses the social and individual presuppositions 
underlying American secondary education; the chief bases for the 
selection of studies; the classification of studies according to 
the nature of their content; the function and relative educational 
worth of various studies and study groups; and the organization 
of studies into curricula. The ample scope of Professor DeGar- 
mo's work and the thoroughness of his analysis will commend 
this book to teachers as a text-book of unusual value. 

A BRIEF COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF 
EDUCATION 

By PAUL MONROE, Ph. D., Professor of Education in Teachers 
College, Columbia University. 12mo. Cloth, xviii+409 
pages. $1.25 net. 

This is practically a condensation of Professor Monroe's 
"Text-book in the History of Education," issued more than two 
years ago, and still the most extensive work on the subject in 
English. The present abbreviation has been made in answer to 
the demands of normal schools and teachers' training classes 
which have not the time to devote to the study of the larger text. 
Nevertheless it treats of all the general periods, and of most of the 
topics discussed in the larger work. 

METHODS IN TEACHING 

Being the Stockton Methods in Elementary Schools. By Mrs. 
ROSA V. WINTERBURN, of Los Angeles, and JAMES 
A. BARR, Superintendent of Schools at Stockton, Cal. 12mo. 
Cloth, xxii+355 pages. $1.25 net. 
This book is a direct product of the schoolrooms. It treats 
the presentation of subject-matter in the various studies usually 
taught in elementary schools from three points of view — that of 
the superintendent or supervisor, of the teacher and of the pupil. 
The book grew out of the exhibit made by the Stockton schools 
at the Exposition in St. Louis, and later in Portland, which at- 
tracted widespread attention, because of the honesty of the pupils' 
work, the "method sheets" by teachers, and the efficiency of 
results. Many compositions by young pupils trained under this 
method are given. 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO 



OCT t907 




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